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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

DUN DUN DUNN - The whole "having clients" thing continues to be a double-edged sword for law firms. Law Students for Climate Accountability this morning launched its #DoneWithDunn campaign, sending a letter to the firm denouncing its representation of clients in the fossil fuel industry and demanding that it adopt standards governing what cases and clients it will forgo, Law.com's Karen Sloan reports. "We call on Gibson Dunn to commit to a publicly available ethical standard that articulates its protocol for representation of the fossil fuel industry," the letter reads. "Diversity programs, pro bono, and in-office sustainability are all welcome but are insufficient as long as Gibson Dunn continues to perpetrate immense harm through its work for paying clients. There must be a line that Gibson Dunn will not cross." Gibson Dunn is now the second major law firm to be targeted by law students concerned with the role the legal industry plays in climate change. In late 2019 and early 2020, law students at Harvard, Yale, New York University and several other law campuses staged protests at recruiting receptions held by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind & Wharton, demanding that the firm stop representing ExxonMobil in a series of climate change lawsuits.

INDUSTRY GATHERING - Your dating life may still be on ice during the pandemic, but the law firm mating ritual is heating up again. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, two new surveys on law firm mergers in the first quarter of 2021—one by Fairfax Associates and the other by Altman Weil—suggest firms of all shapes and sizes are looking to grow through combinations, and that COVID-19 may have been little more than a temporary hiccup in merger activity. The Fairfax report said that although the pace of merger discussions has been "tempered by the limitations on in-person gatherings," there remains a strong appetite for consolidation. "We continue to see tremendous interest among law firms in growth, including through merger, as disruptive change within the legal industry creates ongoing pressure for firms to build greater depth and scale," the report said, adding later: "We anticipate an uptick in active discussions in the coming months and a return to higher levels of completed mergers by the end of 2021 or early 2022."

SHADY DEALINGS - Luxottica Group, the Italian eyewear conglomerate that owns popular brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley, and other plaintiffs filed a trademark infringement suit Tuesday in Illinois Northern District Court over the alleged online sale of counterfeit goods. The lawsuit, brought by Greer, Burns & Crain, pursues claims against unidentified e-commerce operators. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:21-cv-01833, Luxottica Group S.p.A. et al. v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A". Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

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