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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

NEW LOOK - Happy Monday! Once you've had your coffee this morning, you might notice Law.com's gotten a makeover. We're proud to usher in the next generation of Law.com and ALM's network of online legal publications, including The American Lawyer and New York Law Journal. The new look now brings closer together the innovative products launched over the past year, including Law.com Radar, Law.com Pro and Corporate Counsel Advance, and puts a spotlight on topics our readers say they care about the most, including the launch of Law.com's Litigation: Editor's Picks hub, featuring trend analysis and in-depth commentary from practitioners and judges. The upgraded design also showcases Law.com's other original offerings, including practice briefings; Trendspotter, Litigation Trendspotter and Talking Trendspotter columns; the Barometer newsletter; the Legal Speak podcast; How I Made It columns; and more. Take it for a spin and let me know what you think at [email protected].

NOTHING SPECIAL? -  Our websites may be new, but special purpose acquisition companies aren't (how's that for a segue?). Despite the fact that you've probably heard more about SPAC mergers in the past few months than any time before that, these deals have actually been around since at least the mid-'90s—they're just now gaining popularity and attracting the attention of the plaintiffs bar. But, as we explore in this week's Law.com Litigation Trendspotter column, some defense attorneys say that while these SPAC-related lawsuits are spiking, they're simply putting a new(-ish) spin on traditional claims. And for more on this topic, be sure to check out Ross Todd's interview with Susan Saltzstein, the co-deputy of the nationwide securities litigation group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, on the most recent episode of Law.com's Legal Speak podcast.

FACING THE FUTURE -  After a year-plus that drastically changed what it meant for law firms to "get in front of clients," a number of firms have made changes to their marketing C-suites, Law.com's Patrick Smith reports. Foley & Lardner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Schulte Roth & Zabel, Brown Rudnick, Akerman and Jackson Lewis all added new leaders in charge of either marketing, client development, business development or some combination over the past two months. As Smith notes, these particular moves come at a time when firms are trying to get back in front of clients face-to-face while also applying lessons learned during the pandemic—in particular, that harnessing the power of digital marketing is going to remain key moving forward. Koree Khongphand-Buckman, Foley's new CMBDO, told Smith the industry needs to embrace that evolution. "Look how much social media use increased in the last 15 months," she said. "We can use it as a touch point with a client or a potential client. The use of digital techniques is enhancing traditional marketing efforts, not going away from them."