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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BIG LAW'S BIG BET - The gambler's fallacy—also much more awesomely known as the Monte Carlo fallacy—is the incorrect belief that a random event is less or more likely to happen based on the results from a previous event. As Law.com's Christine Simmons writes in this week's Law.com Barometer newsletter, Big Law is betting on another big year after a positively smashing 2021, kicking off 2022 with a heaping helping of lateral hires and associate raises. Economic trends can, of course, be forecasted to a certain degree, so it's not entirely accurate to describe them as "random." On the other hand, if the past few years have had any clear message for humanity it's that literally anything can happen. And while firm leaders are optimistic, the future's not entirely bright: there are signs that economic and deal activity will slow this year, especially after the Federal Reserve likely raises interest rates to address surging inflation. "At the end of the day," Simmons writes, "law firms can be viewed as vendors for their clients. If corporations and banks significantly scale back legal spending due to any threat in the market, law firms will be left holding a bag of liability for all the new compensation obligations, including back-to-back years of associate salary increases and large pay packages for lateral partners." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

DEPARTMENT OF JUST US - As Big Law embraces—well, more like awkwardly fist-bumps—remote work, some within the U.S. Department of Justice are concerned the agency could lose top talent if it doesn't start providing prosecutors with similarly flexible arrangements. An advocacy group representing federal prosecutors, the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, is asking the DOJ to allow federal prosecutors across the various U.S. attorney's offices and Main Justice to work from home at least two days a week on a permanent basis. Adam Hanna, the VP of policy for NAAUSA and a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of Illinois, told Law.com's Andrew Goudsward that those who make the leap from Big Law to a government gig are prepared to accept a sizable pay cut in exchange for the chance to gain unique experience and do meaningful work. "But I think at some point perhaps the scales just tilt too far to make it practical," Hanna said. "You're basically saying to young lawyers that you want to recruit, we can't pay you as much as the big firms do and you're going to be required to come into work five days a week in the Justice Department versus three days a week at Big Law."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Shook, Hardy & Bacon partner Amir M. Nassihi, co-chair of the firm's class action and appellate practice, has entered an appearance for Tesla in a pending consumer class action. The action, filed Dec. 14 in California Northern District Court by the O'Connor Law Group; Reallaw APC and Wirtz Law, contends that Tesla unilaterally modifies motor vehicle order agreements after they have been fully executed. The action further contends that the modifications include a change in terms and increased prices for the vehicles and features. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., is 4:21-cv-09635, Horowitz v. Tesla Motors, Inc.  Read the complaint on Law.com Radar and check out the most recent edition of Law.com's Who Got the Work?℠ column to find out which law firms and lawyers are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.

SPILLED SECRETS? - Duane Morris filed a trade secret lawsuit Thursday in Rhode Island District Court on behalf of Chemtex LLC, a manufacturer of spill control products. The suit takes aim at the company's former regional sales manager, Donna Ouellette, for allegedly violating her employment agreement by misappropriating confidential information to create a competing company. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 1:22-cv-00056, Chemtex, LLC v. Ouellette. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES - Environmental, social and governance issues are taking center stage in Latin America and the Caribbean, where a bevy of companies and governments are issuing sustainability-linked bonds and brainstorming with lawyers about how to create meaningful ESG policies, Law.com International's Amy Guthrie reports. Data compiled by the research firm Refinitiv shows an explosion of ESG debt issuance from the region—36 offerings worth $32 billion in 2021 versus 22 offerings worth $22 billion in 2020 and 14 offerings worth $6.5 billion in 2019. This year is already off to a strong start, with issuances from several banks and a Brazilian media company. Shoring up sustainability practices poses significant challenges as well as enormous potential in a region where extractive industries and commodity producers drive significant business activity. "There is a growing consensus among various countries that focusing on policies that address environmental degradation, political corruption and social inequality helps attract investors to the region," said Randy Bullard, the Miami-based co-chair of Morrison & Foerster's Latin America desk.

WHAT YOU SAID

"The effect of this, if it goes forward in bankruptcy court, is to keep a large number of injured people from being able to go into court, have a jury trial, and get whatever recovery they should be entitled to."