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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

NEW YEAR, NEW FIRM - Happy New Year! If your resolution for 2022 is to become more well-rounded, you're not alone. As Law.com's Justin Henry reports, firms are eyeing entering new practices and diversifying their existing practices in order to cash in on a spike in dealmaking activities and other hot practice areas.  According to a Client Advisory for 2022 by the Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group and Hildebrandt Consulting, law firms are focused on building on their core capabilities and cross-selling to existing clients, while selectively diversifying into other practices, as a primary strategy for growth in 2022. But growth in 2022 will be more complicated than poaching laterals with books of business, according to recruiters. Firms must now shift toward screening candidates for firmwide compatibility. But that's easier said than done. As Brad Hildebrandt, a Philadelphia-area law firm consultant and co-author of Citi Private Bank's client advisory, noted, part of the reason the lateral market is so hot right now is that many lawyers no longer feel connected to their firms. "What the pandemic has done, besides creating problems for families, is that cultures get hurt when you're not together as much," Hildebrandt said.

FEDERAL FOCUS - Nobody parties on New Year's Eve like Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., who, as per tradition, rang in 2022 on Friday with his year-end report on the federal judiciary. This year, Roberts, apparently mindful of recent criticisms of the federal courts, said that financial disclosure, workplace harassment and patent case assignments will receive "focused attention" by the judiciary's policymaking body in the coming months, Law.com's Marcia Coyle reports. Roberts wrote that those three areas were flagged by Congress and the press over the past year. The Judicial Conference of the United States, which celebrates its centennial this year, is "up to the task of addressing the three topics I have highlighted, as well as the many other issues on its agenda," he wrote.

HIGH RISK? - Curaleaf, an integrated cannabis producer based in Massachusetts, was hit with a product liability lawsuit Saturday in Oregon District Court over the labeling of its Select CBD drops. The court action, brought by OlsenDaines and attorney Kelly D. Jones on behalf of the Estate of Earl Jacobs, alleges that drops ingested by the 70-year-old decedent contained the psychoactive compound THC without a warning label and were a substantial factor causing his death. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:22-cv-00001, Yoakum v. Curaleaf, Inc.  Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

OPTIMISM AMID OMICRON -  Even with the black cloud of the Omicron variant hanging over the start of 2022, leaders of some of Canada's top-tier firms are predicting another good year, Law.com International's Gail J. Cohen reports. But it will not be without its challenges, as the "dreaded" talent war will see firms scrambling for lawyers. "I'm pretty optimistic generally about 2022," said Matthew Cockburn, managing partner of Torys, which has five offices across Canada and in New York. "I'm anticipating activity levels to continue to be quite high," although not quite the record activity levels of 2021. Law.com International spoke to several law firm leaders to get a sense of what they see foresee for 2022. With COVID cases skyrocketing over the holidays, return to office plans continue to be both front of mind but not set in stone. Hybrid work is on the cards for the majority of firms but exactly what that means remains to be tested. Transactional work and vibrant markets will continue to drive high levels of legal work, law firm heads said, but talent retention and diversity issues are some of the most critical matters firms will have to deal with internally.

WHAT YOU SAID

"Clients want lawyers who know more than statutes and case law. They want counselors-at-law who give practical, strategic advice. Young lawyers who embrace this early in their careers and develop both the mindset and the skillset to help clients in this way will achieve the success and personal satisfaction they desire."