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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MOVIN' OUT - If you thought the real estate market was insane right now, get a load of the real estate attorney lateral market. As Law.com's Dan Roe reports, real estate lawyers are busier than ever, as low interest rates fuel demand for commercial and residential transactions. That, of course, means competition for those lawyers among firms is also red hot. Looking at the Am Law 200 alone, last week, Greenspoon Marder real estate partner Loretta Thompson joined Withers in Los Angeles, while Loeb & Loeb picked up Jones Day real estate partner Peter Bergan in Chicago. Earlier this month, Nixon Peabody snagged New York-based affordable housing and real estate partner Laura Sugarman from Holland & Knight. And in Florida, Spencer Fane partner Shawn Whitney, another affordable housing specialist, opened a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, office for the Kansas City-based law firm, relocating from Springfield, Missouri. Midsize firms and boutiques have also gotten in on the action, with some smaller firms poaching Big Law attorneys to help grow their real estate practices. Florida-based real estate lawyer Robert Stern of Trenam Law summed it all up beautifully: "Our real estate and lending lawyers are jammed out and maxed out. It's all hands on deck."

DIVERSIFYING DIVERSITY EFFORTS - Diversity Lab has launched a new initiative that asks for change at law firms not just from the top, but at the practice group level and even on the individual partner level, Law.com's Dylan Jackson reports. Caren Ulrich Stacey, CEO of the legal diversity organization, said that for too long diversity programming has relied on "fluffy" promises firm leaders, when real progress lies in the hands of frontline practice group leaders. "It's important for the firm and for management at the firmwide level to be inclusive. But, to be blunt, what makes or breaks an associate or partner's career is what happens at the practice group level. Do they get quality work and interactions with clients?" Ulrich Stacey said. As part of its Inclusion Blueprint, a two-year-old collaboration between Diversity Lab and legal diversity organization ChIPs, Diversity Lab has launched the Do Something Hard initiative. The program asks the 50 participating firms to take on actions at the practice group and firmwide level. Firms must choose one firmwide goal or one practice group goal and implement it by January 2022. Most firms, however, picked goals on both levels.

FAUX CEO? - Greenspoon Marder filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Nevada District Court on behalf of Reseau Docteur Inc., a nonprofit that aims to promote minority professional representation on social media. The complaint contends that former Reseau Docteur CEO Dr. Alex Oladele continued to promote himself as CEO after he was terminated by the board, registered the plaintiff's marks under his name and changed the address of the company to his personal home address. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 2:21-cv-01795, Reseau Docteur, Inc. v. Oladele. 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

MISHCON ACCOMPLISHED -  London-based Mishcon de Reya has launched its second international office in Hong Kong, a little over a year after its overseas debut in Singapore, Law.com International's Jessica Seah reports.  The firm has entered into an association with Hong Kong disputes and investigations boutique Karas LLP. The Hong Kong set up, named Karas LLP in association with Mishcon de Reya, has been approved by the Hong Kong Law Society. Led by managing partner Jason Karas, Karas LLP has 20 lawyers including five partners. The firm focuses on high value matters in relation to corporate collapses, audit and professional negligence, shareholder disputes and commercial fraud. It comes as the firm upscales its international presence ahead of its planned listing on the London Stock Exchange. Earlier this month the firm voted in its IPO proposal and also recently announced a merger with U.K. firm Taylor Vinters. "In our conversations with Jason, it is clear that our shared values and ambitions for growth in Asia as well as the synergy with our existing dispute resolution, investigations and insolvency practices in London and Singapore makes for an exciting partnership," said Mishcon's executive chairperson Kevin Gold.

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WHAT YOU SAID

"Don't be shy about self-promotion and seeking out opportunities to spotlight your skills and how you can help clients and your firm."