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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL (PROBABLY) GO! - As Big Law continues its nationwide search for new frontiers to explore, two mysterious, exotic locales have emerged as possible destinations: Fresno, California, and Greenville, South Carolina. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, data from Wolters Kluwer's ELM Solutions, a legal analytics company, showed that big billing rate increases last year often coincided with population gains. And ELM found "especially" high average billing rate increases in Fresno (15%), Greenville (18%), Miami (9%), Nashville (11%), Oklahoma City (13%), Phoenix (10%) and Seattle (11%). Meanwhile, census totals show each of the corresponding counties for those markets grew more than 8% between 2010 and 2020, with Phoenix (15.8% growth) Greenville (16.5%) and Seattle (17.5%) leading the way. The population gains, tied with the billing rate increases, suggest that those cities could stand to add more lawyers, and some of them could be among the next wave of markets that entice law firms to open new offices, said Jeffrey Solomon, senior director of product management legal analytics for ELM. "As we look at the cities you see this in, some of the ones we've suggested have been undergoing such robust public population growth," he told Maloney.

LITIGATION DRIVER -  We've come a long way since the days of hand-cranking your driver's side window down to order a Cheddar Melt at the McDonald's drive-thru. These days, cars will do just about everything for you but check your cholesterol. Still, while constantly evolving vehicle tech has made driving easier and safer than ever, the ride is not always smooth. As Law.com's Charles Toutant reports, automaker Tesla Inc. is facing a suit in federal court in Camden by a New Jersey Turnpike toll collector, who claims she was injured due to the unintended acceleration of one of the carmaker's vehicles. With allegations that the car's automated emergency braking system failed to prevent the car from accelerating at full power, the suit could be a harbinger of future auto accident litigation, focusing on the functioning of electronic systems as much as on the actions of the driver.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Wayne A. Sorrell II of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed has entered an appearance for Emeril Lagasse and Robert W. Pass of Carlton Fields has entered an appearance for Tristar Products Inc. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The complaint, filed Dec. 21 in Florida Northern District Court on behalf of Team International Group of America Inc., centers on Tristar's "Emeril Lagasse French Door AirFryer 360." The plaintiff is represented by GrayRobinson; Hoffman Marshall Strong; Charles R. Hoffmann PC and Schroeder Law. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, is 3:21-cv-04710, Team International Group Of America Inc v. Tristar Products Inc et al. 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.

BALL DON'T LIE? - Attorneys at Winston & Strawn on Tuesday removed a lawsuit alleging breach of oral contract against LaMelo Ball, professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets, to California Central District Court. The suit was filed by Tesser Grossman LLP on behalf of Amber Johnson, who contends that Ball reneged on an agreement to retain her public relations services, depriving her of finders fees for helping him secure multi-million dollar sponsorships with Caffeine Inc. and Puma, and failing to reimburse her for expenses incurred. The case is 2:22-cv-00884, Johnson v. Ball. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

BYE-BYE E.Y. - The global head of technology law at Big Four accountant EY has left to join a U.S. outfit in London, Law.com International's Hannah Walker reports. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has hired Richard Goold as a corporate partner to its London office, the firm announced on Tuesday. At EY, Goold served as the head of tech law globally and U.K. and Ireland's service lines for fast growth for the last five years. He has significant experience in transatlantic and global transactions, representing innovative start-ups and scale-ups, including international mergers and acquisitions, fundraising transactions and buyouts. Goold also counsels U.K. and European companies in key technology industries such as fintech, according to Wilson Sonsini's statement on his hire. Several other Big Four lawyers have returned or joined private practice in recent months. Last year former Baker McKenzie director Stephanie Pantelidaki returned to the firm as a partner from PwC, whilst Kirkland also hired a partner from PwC who had previously been at legacy firm Berwin Leighton Paisner.

WHAT YOU SAID

"It's always an interesting situation, where many people choose to attack lawyers for getting paid for their work. No one worries about all of the financial people, the real estate people, who make hundreds of millions and billions."