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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LET'S GO! - We've been teasing it all week and now it's finally here: the full Go-To Law Schools report, which ranks the 50 law schools that sent the highest percentage of 2020 J.D.s into associate jobs at the nation's largest 100 law firms. But there's so much more here than mere rankings: Law.com's Karen Sloan, the engine behind the entire project, digs into which schools came out on top and why how the pandemic changed the OCI process and why some of those changes may be permanent. So cancel your Zoom calls, give the kids their iPads and dive in!

INVESTING IN EMPATHY - Law firms' impressive resilience in the face of daunting obstacles last year highlighted the importance of their investments in tech and infrastructure. After all, without those, pivoting to remote work would not have happened so quickly or seamlessly. But without people, it wouldn't have happened at all. Still, as Law.com's Christine Simmons writes in this week's Barometer newsletter, a number of firms are failing to invest in their talent by showing them empathy and providing real flexibility during an incredibly difficult stretch. Billable hour expectations for young attorneys, many of whom were stuck at home with kids or aging relatives, did not change at many firms last year. Performance reviews came with heightened expectations. Working from home has translated to being on call 24/7. But now, as those same firms try to figure out how to rally a drained workforce for another year, many young lawyers are readying themselves for a workplace change, especially as the economy is primed to take off.

FREE OF CHARGE - Toyota Motor was hit with a consumer class action Thursday in Texas Eastern District Court. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of owners of 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 vehicles over claims that they have defective batteries. "The Class Vehicles contain a significant design and/or manufacturing defect in the 12-volt battery B+ terminal, which shorts to the battery hold down frame… When this short occurs, it can cause a catastrophic failure of the battery, leading the automobile to lose electrical power, vehicle stalling, and potentially a fire originating in the engine compartment," the complaint alleges. The suit was filed by Steckler Wayne Cochran Cherry; Freed Kanner London & Millen; LeVan Muhic Stapleton; Carlson Lynch LLP; and LeVan Muhic Stapleton. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 4:21-cv-00178, Murphy v. Toyota Motor Corporation et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

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