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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LAW FIRMS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND - Being a working parent before the pandemic was a juggling act. Being a working parent during the pandemic is a juggling act performed with flaming chainsaws, on a tightrope—and there are three shows a day. Firms, for their part, have responded with perks like wellness programming, tutoring services and special bonuses. But, as Law.com's Dylan Jackson reports, what lawyer-parents really want from their firms is understanding and flexibility, both now and after the pandemic. And the firms that can't or won't answer that call run the very real risk of chasing away their next generation. "If you are a great associate and you work hard and you're dedicated, it is a very small investment for me to make—to give flexibility while they're young," said Kristen Riemenschneider, a partner at Arnold & Porter who has three elementary school-age children. "It's a finite window of time in somebody's life."

DIMINISHING RETURNS  – As some semblance of a return to the office inches closer to reality, it's becoming clear that straddling the line between in-person and remote work is not going to be as easy as A and B schedules. The existence of a vaccine has law firm leaders mulling how to bring their teams back together in the same physical space, but the expectation of greater flexibility in the wake of the pandemic could lead to tension—and possibly even lost talent—if the return is mishandled. Still, the prospect of letting some lawyers work remotely while others work in the office comes with its own potential pitfalls related to culture and career development. In this week's Law.com Trendspotter column, we look at how firm leaders are approaching the delicate process of entering yet another new normal.

INTERCEPTED - Fox Rothschild filed a lawsuit Monday in California Central District Court on behalf of litigation funder Balanced Bridge Funding. The complaint brings claims against former NFL wide receiver Alvin C. Harper in connection with his payment from the NFL concussion settlement. According to the suit, Harper accepted a settlement advance in 2016 from Balance Bridge but has refused to transfer the award payment he received in Nov. 2020. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2:21-cv-00663, Balanced Bridge Funding, LLC v. Harper et al. Stay up on the latest deals with the new Law.com Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

DOWN UNDER ATTACK - Australian law firm Allens was reportedly targeted in a cyberattack after an IT company it used to share sensitive information and client data was compromised, according to Law.com International's Christopher Niesche. The Australian Financial Review reported that a file-sharing system provided by Californian cloud company Accellion and used by Allens was accessed illegally earlier this month. The sensitive information shared via Accellion included commercial-in-confidence documents related to Westpac, an Australian bank and financial services provider, in its defense of a case in which it was charged with breaching anti-money laundering laws, the newspaper reported.

WHAT YOU SAID

"The last person anyone expects to be walking in a room representing a professional sports team, league or federation is a woman. They automatically make certain assumptions as a result. They come to find that those assumptions were wrong and they should have been on high alert from the beginning."