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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BACK, IN TIME - Iron-willed attorneys and staff who have thus far managed to resist the lure of free snacks may find themselves subject to more forceful attempts by their firm leaders to bring them back to the office in 2022. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, some legal industry analysts say firms could become more adamant about attendance next year, citing high vaccine uptake, concerns about cultural and development issues, and unforeseen challenges in having different people in and out of the office. "Everybody is telling me, 'Look, we're back in the office. Forty percent, or 30%, are back, or whatever it is. But we're not really putting pressure on anybody until next year,'" said Jim Jones, a senior fellow at the Georgetown Law Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession, adding that firm leaders "are really worried about cultural issues."

BITTER PILL - Four years after a California appeals court upheld her landmark victory against the lead paint industry, Motley Rice's Fidelma Fitzpatrick failed to persuade a California judge to hold manufacturers of opioid pharmaceuticals liable for creating a public nuisance, Law.com's Amanda Bronstad reports. In a tentative decision earlier this week, Orange County Superior Court Judge Peter Wilson differentiated the case from a 2017 public nuisance finding against lead paint companies that marketed their products as safe despite knowing of the health risks. "The FDA approves the use of opioids in appropriate circumstances, and the California Legislature approves and promotes the use of opioids in appropriate circumstances," Wilson wrote. "The court must accordingly draw a distinction between conduct resulting in the anticipated, approved use, and conduct resulting in improper use. The evidence does not permit the court here to draw (and measure) that distinction." Still, the judge added that nothing in his opinion "is intended to suggest that false and misleading marketing and promotion that results in medically inappropriate prescriptions being written may not constitute an actionable public nuisance."

PORK BARREL SPENDING - In the latest edition of "Industries That Are Surprisingly Ruthless," we delve into the alleged evils of Big Pig. On Tuesday, Buffalo Wild Wings hit Hormel Foods, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods and other defendants with an antitrust lawsuit in Florida Southern District Court alleging price-fixing in the broiler pork industry. The suit was filed on behalf of the plaintiff by Carlton Fields. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 9:21-cv-82015, Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. v. Agri Stats, Inc. et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER -  U.S. firm leaders aren't the only ones getting antsy for office work. In France, they may actually be even antsier. As Law.com's Hannah Langworth reports, many French law firm leaders are already mandating that lawyers and staff return to in-person work for most or all of each week. At Gibson Dunn in Paris, for example, working from home is only allowed for lawyers at the firm's Paris office in special cases and not as a general rule.  "Presence in the office, where we have been back for over 18 months, is a real plus to the collegiality and the mentoring needed in law firms, especially for the more junior lawyers," said office co-head Bernard Grinspan. "Judging by the U.S. offices' situation, where they still are working from home, I believe that it has left associates working very hard, and somewhat isolated."

WHAT YOU SAID

"My strategy, as an associate, was to think of the partners in my firm as clients, and my job was to make them successful at their jobs."