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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF IT - As we discussed yesterday in our Law.com Trendspotter column, law firms' quest for profitability could manifest in increased pressure on partners—even highly productive ones—to work more efficiently and improve their realization rates. Luckily, those partners may not have to figure it all out on their own. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, a number of high-performing law firms have hired staff analysts—and beefed up their tech capabilities—to dig into their revenue and expenses in order to help them increase their bottom lines. "The change underway is assessing profit margins and profit contribution. It can be a matter, a partner's book, a practice group, a client or an office," Jim Cotterman, a principal at Altman Weil, told Maloney.

CANCELING THE OFFICE - Law firms everywhere are rethinking their physical office space needs in light of remote work's success, but the City of Brotherly Love may be ahead of the curve in terms of actually doing something about it, according to a new report by Law.com's Justin Henry. Philadelphia-headquartered Blank Rome, for example, has signed onto a 16-year lease for its Center City office space that would allow the firm to downsize its square footage within that 16-year period by up to 50%. Meanwhile, at midsize firm Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, which already used staggered office schedules for efficiency prior to the pandemic, managing partner Andrew Indeck said some 40% of the firm's real estate is slated to be reduced. The firm is also largely de-emphasizing personal office space. "The presumption is you don't need a dedicated office," Indeck said. "You can work at home, or you can come into the office when you need to, but the expectation is you come in for collaborative purposes or to meet with clients."

BITTERCOIN -  McDermott Will & Emery filed a trademark lawsuit Monday in District of Columbia District Court on behalf of cryptocurrency issuer Safe Exchange Foundation LLC, Safex Foundation Inc., and founder Daniel Dabek. The suit, which names Safeth Ltd. and its operators Joey and Cynthia Lathus, centers on an alleged scheme by the defendants to delist the plaintiffs' digital currency and market a competing cryptocurrency called Safex Platinum. The complaint claims the scheme began after Joey Lathus was rebuffed in his attempts to be hired by Safex as a marketing consultant. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:21-cv-00161, Safex Foundation, Inc. et al v. Safeth, Ltd. et al. Stay up on the latest deals with the new Law.com Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

FAIR SHOTS - The existence of a vaccine has given the legal industry hope of getting lawyers and staff back into to physical offices at some point this year, but not everyone can agree on the terms of that return. As Meganne Tillay reports, a Law.com International poll of 111 senior legal practitioners found that 41% of respondents felt law firms should require all staff to be vaccinated in order to return to the office, while 38% of respondents disagreed with that view. The remainder were unsure or had no preference. "We need to be at the forefront of countering [the] anti-vaxx messaging," one respondent said, adding, "In the same way as we expect society to trust us we must show that we trust the medical profession and their advisory bodies." Another, however, said the decision to get vaccinated "is a personal/health issue." "No employer should force anyone to undertake any medical procedure," they said.

WHAT YOU SAID

"I think my career is basically over."