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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BACK TO REALITY - Law firm leaders itching to return to the office have talked up the need for folks to rekindle the deep affection they have for their colleagues and for their firm's culture. But what about those attorneys who walk through the suite doors for the first time in a year-and-a-half and realize, "Wait a second—I hate this place"? In this week's Law.com Barometer newsletter, American Lawyer Executive Editor Ben Seal writes that getting back to "normal" could be the catalyst for a young lawyer exodus at those firms where things like transparency, equity and flexibility have not been high priorities during the pandemic. "It won't be the result of a broad-scale refusal to take public transit back into all those high-rises—though that will motivate some people," Seal writes. "Instead, as firms and their lawyers seek to re-establish their culture and ways of operating, lawyers who have felt separated from it all for the past 18 months will be thrown back in. And at firms that haven't done what's necessary to keep them satisfied, they might realize it's time for a change." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

ANTIBODIES GUESS -  According to the CDC, people should still get vaccinated against COVID-19 even if they've already been infected with the virus. But there are plenty of people who have recovered from COVID who think otherwise, and, as Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, that could make things dicey for law firms. Amid a rise in employers requiring the vaccine, some in the legal industry are still grappling with how to handle claims that "natural immunity" should count as an exemption to vaccine mandates. "One of the issues that I think is going to be difficult for all employers [not just law firms], and one we are studying very carefully, is the issue many people are raising, which is—'I've had COVID once or twice, so I have automatic antibodies. So why do I need to get vaccinated when I already have the antibodies?'" Michael Heller, chair of Cozen O'Connor, told The American Lawyer last month after his firm implemented a vaccine mandate. But law firm consultant Kent Zimmermann told Maloney that, while the question of whether to mandate vaccines is "still very much a topic," most firms that have chosen to require the shot have settled into allowing for two general accommodations for people who refuse: health reasons and sincerely held religious beliefs. "But I haven't heard any say an exception to the mandate is if you've had COVID," he said. "Not one has said that to me."

TAKEN FOR A RIDE? - Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi Global, Barclays, BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley and a slew of other defendants were hit with a securities class action Thursday in California Central District Court in connection with DiDi's June IPO. The suit, filed by Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, accuses DiDi and its underwriters of failing to disclose risks related to ongoing discussions with Chinese cybersecurity regulators. The case is 2:21-cv-07104, Hu v. DiDi Global Inc. et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

• Take Our Survey: Should the Term 'White Shoe' Be Canceled? By Patrick Smith

  Who Got the Work? Fighting a Consumer Suit vs. Coke, Helping Allbirds Go Public, Defending Dollar Tree and More. By ALM Staff

  'We Were a Key Part of Tom Winning Some Big Cases.' How Tom Girardi's Downfall Hit One Consulting Firm. By Amanda Bronstad

  'We're in a Difficult Position Here': John Pierce's Illness Leaves Judge Wrestling With How to Proceed in Jan. 6 Case By Andrew Goudsward