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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

SCIENCE CLASSES - What do dried oregano, baby food and sunscreen all have in common? Aside from being beach essentials, they also happen to all be the subjects of consumer class actions alleging they contain harmful materials unbeknownst to buyers. As Law.com's Amanda Bronstad reports, the lawsuits all cite scientific research from nonprofit organizations, such as Healthy Babies Bright Futures and Consumer Reports, which found trace amounts of toxic substances in the products. The cases are still in their early stages: federal judges mostly have consolidated the lawsuits and appointed lead counsel. But the class action bar is enthusiastic about the success of the lawsuits. "These are serious issues facing consumers and, in the case of baby foods and some other products, specifically facing children," said Kevin Laukaitis of Shub Law in Haddonfield, New Jersey. His firm has filed cases involving all the various products, including, in the past month, spices made by McCormick & Co., Morton & Bassett and La Flor. "These issues are pretty prevalent in the news today, so that gains momentum in the legal world and scientific world. And, when you have momentum, you want to ride it."

MISSION: RESPONSIBLE -  "The Great Resignation" has a nice ring to it but it might be a misnomer. As a recent contributor to Corporate Counsel pointed out, maybe it should really be called the "Great Reflection" due to the fact that we're not seeing lawyers question whether they should be practicing law, but rather reflecting on how, why, and for whom they practice it. With that in mind, in-house legal department leaders looking to attract and retain top talent are beginning to understand that, while they can't beat Big Law when it comes to money, they might be able to stay in the game by offering more meaningful work, Law.com's Heather Nevitt writes in this week's Barometer newsletter. For example, Richard Harvey, executive VP, GC and director of compliance risk of Beneficial State Bank, recently said the latter is what has allowed his company to remain competitive in the talent wars."… [O]ne of the big reasons why people were willing to join us was because of our unique mission," he said. "Time and time again, when I'm talking to candidates and I'm asking them, "Well, what was it about this organization that made you interested in giving us a look-see?" What they would tell me is that it's the mission." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Lawyers at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius on Thursday removed an employment class action against Pepperidge Farm, the maker of Goldfish crackers and Milano cookies, to New Jersey District Court. The suit, filed by McOmber, McOmber & Luber, alleges that the company misclassified delivery drivers for sales territories in New Jersey as "independent contractors" in order to pay the class lower wages. The case is 2:22-cv-00542, Mcmillan v. Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated 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

BREEDING ANIMOSITY - Michael Best & Friedrich filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois Thursday in Illinois Northern District Court challenging a rule banning the sale of dogs raised by professional breeders in favor of dogs from animal shelters. The complaint was brought on behalf of Starfish Ventures and other plaintiffs contending that the rule threatens the viability of small pet shops that wish to serve customers seeking to purchase purebred dogs from reputed sources. The case is 3:22-cv-50038, Siaurora, Inc. et al v. State of Illinois et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

CASHING OUT - Many corporate legal departments may well be able to offer more fulfilling work than their Big Law competitors can. But, right now in the U.K., many in-house lawyers are pondering heading back to the law firm world, where they figure they can fulfill themselves with the absolutely whacky amounts of cash being thrown around. "Do people really want to go back to private practice? Not really. But when the money is sky high, you do think properly about it," one U.K. head of legal at a global bank told Law.com International's Varsha Patel. Still, despite the incredibly strong pull of private practice paychecks, some in-house lawyers have thought better of making the leap. "The pay is astonishing and I've flirted with the idea of going back,"one London based tech head of legal said. "I got quite far in the process but then declined because I knew in another five years I would've gone back to in-house".

WHAT YOU SAID

"It was only about an hour and a half to two hours, where they had to actually be present and answer questions, whereas before, it could take all day where we're at the courthouse not able to do anything else."