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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

INFLATED CONCERNS - As recently as late December, corporate transactional lawyers were feelin' groovy about their prospects heading into 2022, saying they expected the breakneck pace of deals to continue well into the new year. But less than a month later, not everyone is as optimistic. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, rising inflation has become a top concern for corporate CEOs, and now legal market analysts fear it will hurt large law firms, in part by cooling transactional activity. Kent Zimmermann, a consultant for Zeughauser Group, said most firm chairs and managing partners he's spoken with aren't talking about inflation directly but are wondering whether the Fed might try to temper inflation with a rate increase or two later this year and whether that will have an impact on white-hot corporate work that's boosted Big Law throughout the pandemic. "I think that stands to reason given that, for a large group of firms that outperformed the market, and even some that didn't outperform the market last year, their transactional practice was the largest driver of their performance," Zimmermann said in an interview. "Because their transactional practice—most notably mergers and acquisitions and private equity work—was the largest driver, they're very sensitive to any possibility that transactional activity will cool."

MIDDLE MANAGEMENT - While Big Law's in the trenches taking grenades, midsize firms might just be advancing toward victory in the talent war. As Law.com's Lizzy McLellan writes in this week's Barometer newsletter, a great proportion of firms outside the Am Law 200 benefited from increased demand and decreased expenses in 2021. Now, they're investing in targeted growth and have a good story to tell both potential new hires and potential merger partners, the latter of which midsize firms have been increasingly seeking out as a means of strategically scaling up. "What many midsize firms have long offered is a defined culture and closer relationship between leadership and the rest of the firm," McLellan writes. "For partners at small firms and boutiques who have enjoyed having an influence in how their firm operates, this can be more attractive than working in Big Law. That pitch becomes even better when it's paired with a strong financial foundation bolstered by success in the most recent calendar year." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

NETWORK INTERFERENCE? - LinkedIn, the professional social networking site, was slapped with an antitrust lawsuit Thursday in California Northern District Court. The suit accuses LinkedIn and Facebook of agreeing not to compete in the professional social networking market, allowing LinkedIn to inflate subscription prices. The court action was filed by Bathaee Dunne LLP on behalf of LinkedIn Premium subscribers. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 5:22-cv-00237, Crowder et al v. LinkedIn Corporation. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

PRICE INCREASE - PwC has laid out ambitious plans to double the size of its U.K. legal business in the coming years, Law.com International's Paul Hodkinson reports. Teresa Owusu-Adjei, PwC's U.K. head of legal, said that the professional services giant's board has signed off plans that will see a "huge amount of investment" in the firm's U.K. legal business in the next three to four years. The money will be spent on hiring staff outside of London and investing in new technology to support the legal operation. PwC does not provide figures for its legal revenues, but currently employs around 400 staff in its U.K. legal arm. "We have significant ambition around doubling the size of the business in the next few years", said Owusu-Adjei. "Everything is on the table and it's been signed off at the highest level of the firm that this is an area that everyone is behind."

WHAT YOU SAID

"So much for 'justice delayed is justice denied.' How about publicly committing to moving the Ripple case as 'swiftly' as possible with no more delays?"