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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

DELTA BLUES - The optimism of early summer, when vaccination rates were climbing and firms were finalizing return-to-office plans, has been replaced with something like a mixture of dread and déjà vu thanks to the rise of the Delta variant. As Law.com's Dylan Jackson reports, law firm morale has taken a major hit firms waffle on office returns, child care arrangements remain precarious and attorneys, particularly young ones, feel increasingly disconnected from their firms. But with so much out of their control, what can firm leaders do to help? One key point is to give attorneys and staff as much certainty as possible with regard to plans heading into fall, Dr. Larry Richard, an organizational psychologist that works with Big Law firms, advised. The pandemic, Richard said, is triggering the threat circuitry in the brains of many people—especially those who are isolated or have young children at home. Any further uncertainty puts people at more risk. "What leaders can do is build as much predictability—once they make a decision—as is humanly possible, meaning giving as many specifics as possible. People feel more secure when they feel they have choices to make," Richard said.

'FAR FROM ISOLATED' - Former and current federal judiciary employees described harassment they experienced while working in federal courts and public defenders' offices in an amicus brief filed late last week. As Law.com's Jacquline Thomsen reports, he brief was filed by attorneys with Keker, Van Nest & Peters in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the case of "Jane Roe," who is alleging harassment while working in a federal public defender's office. Roe's lawsuit challenges the federal judiciary's procedures for reporting and handling workplace misconduct. The brief, signed by 26 current and former federal judiciary staffers, draws parallels between the harassment Roe alleges she faced and their own experiences, as well as the issues both Roe and signatories claimed they encountered in at least trying to report the conduct. One former clerk alleged that her male co-clerks at an appellate court "liked to joke about having sex with or raping [her]." Another alleged that her pregnancy led to the judge she was clerking for rescinding an offer to stay with the court for two more years. According to the brief, that judge then "terminated amicus' employment during the pandemic, just 10 days before her baby was born."

DINOSAUR SUIT SUIT  - No, unfortunately, this isn't the plot of the next "Jurassic World" movie: Davis Wright Tremaine filed a copyright lawsuit Friday in California Southern District Court on behalf of costume company Rubies II LLC. The suit pursues claims against Disguise Inc. in connection with the defendant's manufacture and sale of an inflatable T-Rex costume that allegedly mimics the plaintiff's design. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:21-cv-01525, Rubies II, LLC v. Disguise, Inc. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

SUPPORT(ING) STAFF - U.S. law firms aren't the only ones trying to figure out how to keep morale from tanking amid coronavirus flare-ups. As Law.com International's Christopher Niesche reports, Australians have had to cope with multiple extended, strict lockdowns over the past year as the government tries to curb the spread of COVID-19. And some of the country's law firms are making a concerted effort to support their staff through these periods, providing them with more flexible work options and programs on managing mental overload, mindfulness and sleep, as well as offering UberEats vouchers, group exercise classes, singalongs and virtual cooking demonstrations. "This approach is to help people understand that their experiences are normal, and that they are not alone," said Dentons Australia Chair and Australasia region CEO Doug Stipanicev of his firm's efforts, which have included the "Surviving to Thriving" wellbeing series, which features 30-minute physical and mental wellbeing sessions for employees.

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