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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

RETURN NOTICE -  Last week, we told you about how Sullivan & Cromwell was "strongly encouraging" but totally not, like, forcing anyone to come back to the office. While the firm's chair, Joseph Shenker, was adamant that no one at the firm should feel pressured to return to in-person work, some industry observers said that messaging could be confusing. "I think there is inherent bias in it," Jennifer Johnson, CEO and founder of legal consulting firm Calibrate Legal, told Law.com's Patrick Smith. "Meaning, it infers that there is some sort of judgement for not returning to the office." But what's the right way for a law firm to communicate its desire to bring people back together? There's no one-size-fits-all answer but one thing's for sure: firms should not try to craft the message by themselves. "If you are going to issue statements that are going to affect people's lives, they need to be vetted by people outside the management bubble," Johnson said. "You can't have people who work in a boardroom just issue a statement if they don't understand how it affects 99% of their employees."

WHERE THE MONEY IS - Several large law firms are making sweeping changes to their multitier structure of associate compensation, either by standardizing pay for all U.S. associates across cities or giving pay bumps for associates in smaller cities. While that's undeniably good news for those associates, what it means for the broader legal industry is more complicated, Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports. As firms increase or standardize salaries for associates in smaller markets, even more young attorneys could look to relocate, especially as more firms look to hire remotely. Meanwhile, midsize or small firms in those secondary markets could also face more talent competition—and, as a result, client competition—by name brands in Big Law. "Local corporations will now have the alternative of using an Iowa law firm, for example, or a national law firm with greater reach," explained George Wolf Jr., a law firm consultant for Aon, noting that widespread remote work caused by COVID-19 means that, for large law firms, "everyone is now in play in terms of building your associate ranks."

EARNED OR BURNED?  - Salesforce.com was sued Tuesday in California Northern District Court over alleged employment law breaches. The lawsuit, filed by Whitfield Bryson LLP and Greg Coleman Law on behalf of two former sales representatives, accuses Salesforce of structuring a large deal with AT&T in a manner to avoid paying earned commissions. "Since a big deal is often extraordinarily difficult to close—generally requiring long hours and travel time—Salesforce knows that being honest about any intentions to cap commissions would significantly disincentivize its sales representatives from pursuing these more labor- and time-intensive deals," the complaint alleges. "Being honest about any intentions to cap commissions would also make it significantly more difficult for Salesforce to hire and retain the best salespeople, who expect uncapped commissions, which is standard in the industry."  Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:21-cv-03532, Mozzone et al v. Salesforce.com, Inc. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

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