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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BRING 'EM ON - Lateral hiring undoubtedly took a significant wallop this past year. According to data from consulting firm Decipher, there was a 30% year-over-year drop in lateral moves and a 23% decline compared to the three-year average from 2017, 2018 and 2019. But, as Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, a closer look tells a more positive story—at least for the top firms, who pulled even further ahead of the rest of the pack last year and actually used the pandemic as an opportunity to bring on more quality talent. Interestingly, while remote work was initially viewed as a hiring hurdle, it may actually have facilitated some lateral moves later in the year, once videoconferencing had become a way of life and firms had mastered the mute button. As Dan Scott, director of recruiting firm Angott Search Group, put it: "Do you know how hard it is to get five lawyers into the same room? Do you know how much easier it is to get five of them onto a Zoom call?"

PAYING ATTENTION TO RETENTION - While we're on the topic of hiring: midsize law firms are figuring out how to tap into more pipelines to find diverse candidates, but integrating those hires in a way that fosters long-term success remains a challenge, Law.com's Meredith Hobbs recently reported in ALM's Mid-Market Report newsletter. Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt in the Pacific Northwest, for example, has made strides in hiring through a 1L diversity fellowship program that's entering its 10th year and a 2014 overhaul retooling of interview process for associate candidates. But Joe Straus, a Seattle shareholder who chairs the firm's diversity committee, admitted that retention "is the biggest area we, like every other firm, need to work on." With that in mind, Straus and Michelle Baird-Johnson, the firm's director of talent acquisition and integration, are focusing hard on the issue this year, exploring ways to build a better support network for diverse lawyers within firm. For a free trial subscription to the Mid-Market Report, click here.

BAD BETS? - Edelson PC filed a civil RICO class action Friday in California Northern District Court against Apple over its distribution of Vegas-style slot machine apps. The suit alleges that the games, which are free to download but require in-app purchases, are highly addictive and asserts that the partnership between the game developers and Apple amounts to an illegal internet gambling enterprise. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 5:21-cv-00553, Nelson et al v. Apple Inc. Stay up on the latest deals with the new Law.com Radar.

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