How to Keep Partners From Souring on Your C-Suite | Firms Are Trying to Give Burnt-Out Attorneys the Gift of Time | Samsung Hit With IP Suit Over Photo Gallery App: The Morning Minute
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April 27, 2021 at 09:53 AM
5 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
PRO TIPS - It is, unfortunately, all too common for law firm partners to side-eye nonlawyer executives who are brought in to help steer an organization's strategy. But letting lawyers lawyer and leaving the rest to business experts can be incredibly effective. Still, without mutual respect and some level of trust between attorneys and other high-level professionals, a firm's efforts to expand its C-suite can go sour in a hurry. In this week's Law.com Trendspotter column, we examine why partnership buy-in can be so hard to come by in those situations, as well as how to go about trying to achieve it. Before we dive in, I'm interested to hear what you think: Should law firms be hiring more nonlawyer professionals to drive their business operations? Why or why not? And, if they do, what's the best way to get buy-in from the partnership? Let me know at [email protected] and I'll round up your feedback for a follow-up "Talking Trendspotter" column.
TIME'S YOURS? - For any skeptics that might still be hanging around a year-plus into a global pandemic (what's your deal, by the way?), it's worth repeating: burnout is a real thing that poses a real threat to both attorney wellbeing and law firm productivity. As Law.com's Dylan Jackson reports, the acknowledgment of this problem is leading many firms to try to address the root through various schemes and programs including, of course, simply asking their attorneys to take time off—because just turning on the beach-themed Zoom background every once in a while is probably not enough. "We've basically been telling them, telling our talent, you need to take a vacation," Margaux Trammell, director of professional development at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, said. "You need to take some time off." Still, Jarrett Green, a wellness consultant and former Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom attorney, said extra vacation time is meaningless if it's not accompanied by adjusted productivity expectations. "You can give people thousands of vacation hours a year. But if you don't want to decrease billable hours, then nobody will take it," Green said.
A PICTURE'S WORTH AN AMOUNT TO BE PROVEN AT TRIAL - Michael Best & Friedrich; and Nixon Peabody filed an intellectual property suit against Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics America Monday in Texas Western District Court. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of digital photo platform MemoryWeb, which alleges that the Samsung Gallery photo app infringes on five MemoryWeb patents. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 6:21-cv-00411, MemoryWeb, LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
Law Grads Hiring Report: Job Stats for the Class of 2020 By Karen Sloan
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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