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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MAKING MOVES - Law firm offices aren't going away—but they are getting an extreme makeover. Law firm leasing surged at the end of the year, according to the latest Savills U.S. Law Firm Activity Report, and analysts expect another boost going forward as firms try to sway their employees back to offices with new and better spaces, Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports. While renewals have made up a significant amount of the group's data since the pandemic started in 2020, the analysts said they expect office relocations to increase in the next year and beyond. "During the uncertainty of the pandemic, staying in place was the conservative choice until more clarity could be achieved surrounding the future of the workplace with many firms 'kicking the can down the road' with shorter leases until they figured things out," the report states. "We expect to see more relocations in the near- to mid-term as law firms look to earn their employees' commute by creating workplaces with abundant amenities, collaborative spaces, and incorporate best practices on wellness and sustainability." To learn more about what these radically revamped spaces might look like, check out my interview with Forrest Solutions' Chief Revenue Officer Anthony Davies on the latest episode of Law.com's Legal Speak podcast.

TRICKLE-DOWN ECONOMICS - A rising tide lifts all boats. But rising associate compensation could soon have some firms underwater. As Law.com's Dan Packel reports, escalating wages for associates at elite firms are bound to have consequences on firms across the Am Law 200, regardless of whether they try to keep matching the market-setters. Nearly all law firms, legal industry consultants say, will face pressure to increase associate compensation, no matter their existing pay scale. "I don't worry about the Cravaths of the world," said LawVision Group co-founding principal Joe Altonji. "It trickles down, even though they don't all match the market leaders." Still, for some midsize firms, there may be opportunities to increase market share as clients decide they're fed up with talent war-driven rate hikes. If/when that happens, those clients will likely shift to insourcing, finding lower-cost resources within an existing law firm and transitioning to qualitatively less expensive firms. Savvy midsize firms could even institute their own associate pay bumps and comparatively modest rate hikes while still marketing themselves as the better value play for clients. "Even after that increase, they're on an absolute basis less expensive," Jason Winmill, in-house counsel consultant, told Packel.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Williams Simons & Landis have stepped in as defense counsel to Dropbox and Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton has also entered an appearance in the case for Sailpoint Technologies Holdings. The suit was filed against the three companies Dec. 29 in Texas Western District Court by Sughrue Mion PLLC and the Mort Law Firm on behalf of Topia Technology Inc. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright, is 6:21-cv-01373, Topia Technology, Inc. v. Dropbox, 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.

INSUFFICIENT FUNDS - Winthrop & Weinstine and Carlson Dash LLC filed a lawsuit alleging fraudulent transfer Tuesday in Minnesota District Court on behalf of BMO Harris Bank. The suit names Curtis A. Hayes, president and CFO of non-party Capital Sales Co., Kenneth Kuskie and other Capital shareholders. The complaint accuses Hayes of manipulating financial records in order to make Capital appear solvent, then distributing $435,000 to Kuskie. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 0:22-cv-00435, BMO Harris Bank N.A. v. Kuskie et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

THAT'S RICH - Many people across the industry are of the belief that associates are overpaid, but some of the most vocal detractors have been law firm partners—a.k.a. the ones who are overpaying associates. That cognitive dissonance is not lost on the associates themselves, several of whom recently told Law.com International's Varsha Patel that partners' negative opinions on young lawyers' pay are hypocritical and an attempt to shift the blame away from the industry's deeper issues. "Partners have put out a passive, reactive position rather than being proactive and seeing the broader problem," said one London associate who recently left their firm. "If there's a systemic issue in the legal industry, at partner level you're in the best position to change it and question it rather than grumble that you have to pay more because every other firm is doing it."

WHAT YOU SAID

"For employers in locations that don't have these laws yet, stay tuned, because your location could be next."