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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

REAL GOOD TIME - Remote work may be enjoying overwhelming popularity, but remote fun is still no substitute for real-life human interaction. As Law.com's Dylan Jackson reports, the in-person events summer associate programs are known for—ballgames, concerts and elaborate lunches—came back this year (albeit in limited supply), and many summer associates relished the few chances they had to meet face to face. Roughly 2,900 of this year's summer associates among 71 Am Law 200 law firms responded to The American Lawyer's 2021 Summer Associate Survey, answering both multiple choice and open-ended prompts.  While last year's programs were largely remote in the first few months of the pandemic, many law firms opted for a hybrid approach this year, including the return of some more traditional activities like Houston Astros games with the office, yacht parties and expensive New York dinners. Survey responses showed that firms' in-person programming heavily influenced summer associates' perception of their experience. "We finally had the chance to meet our fellow classmates, and it was also refreshing to be in an office again," said one New York-based summer associate at an Am Law 100 firm.

CONSUMED WITH CONCERN - A novel consumer protection ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a recent Federal Trade Commission settlement have in-house counsel at consumer-facing companies and the corporate defense lawyers who represent them gearing up for battle. In the latest Law.com Litigation Trendspotter column, we examine how the Eleventh Circuit's controversial ruling in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services and the Federal Trade Commission's $6.4 million settlement with a group of cruise line defendants last week could result in major litigation headaches (or worse) for even those companies that are engaging in legitimate business practices.

COURT FIGHT - Taft Stettinius & Hollister filed a lawsuit Friday in Kentucky Western District Court on behalf of Joe Hand Promotions to enforce distribution rights for the 2020 Ultimate Fighting Championship match featuring Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero. The suit pursues claims against the operators of Chasers restaurant in Lebanon, Kentucky, for allegedly airing the broadcast commercially without permission. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 3:21-cv-00603, Joe Hand Promotions, Inc. v. FPB Ventures, LLC et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

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EDITOR'S PICKS

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

PAY ME NOW AND PAY ME 'LATERS - Associate salary wars are now a global affair. Linklaters has increased salaries for its newly-qualified associates by 7.5%, hitting new heights for junior pay among the U.K.'s elite Magic Circle U.K. firms, Law.com International's Hannah Roberts reports. The firm is set to pay its NQs £107,500 as well as a discretionary bonus, up from a figure of £100,000 which had put it on a par with key rivals Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy and Slaughter and May. The pay increase will take effect starting November 1, 2021, according to a spokesperson for the firm. Salaries for trainee lawyers at the firm will remain at their current rate, a document on the firm's website shows, with first years taking home a salary of £50,000 and second years taking home £55,000. The latest increase is an additional boost to Linklaters NQ salaries after the firm restored its pre-pandemic NQ salary in July, which was set in 2019 and which stood at £100,000. In August 2020 the firm cut NQ salaries by 10% to £90,000 as part of its cost-saving measures during the pandemic.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"This is difficult lawyer work, because it often requires that we engage in status-quo-busting, game-changing work, which is not popular and certainly takes its toll on you emotionally; physically, even."