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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT - I'm not sure who would say such a thing, but apparently there's a notion out there that GCs are quick to complain about Big Law associate pay raises while continuing to accept the rate increases that get passed down to clients to cover those pay bumps. But, as Law.com's Phillip Bantz reports, in-house counsel say that portrayal of the situation isn't entirely accurate. Sure, some GCs are hesitant to split with their go-to law firms, whether it's because they have deeply rooted relationships with certain outside counsel, the firm is a powerhouse in a niche area of the law or they're in the midst of litigation or an important deal and it would be too onerous to switch firms midstream. But it would be a mistake to confuse hesitancy with complacency. Many GCs appear to be waiting to see whether law firms will, in fact, pass salary raises down to their clients by way of significant rate increases. And at least some say they're ready to take real action if necessary.  "It's not a foregone conclusion—and it's not something we'd accept," Amgen Inc.'s Los Angeles-based legal chief Jonathan Graham said of potential salary war-driven rate spikes.

CRYPTO CRIMEFIGHTERS - Not to be a buzzkill or anything, but if you were planning a cryptocurrency heist this weekend, maybe call it off. Last month, the DOJ revealed the scope of its ability to trace and recover digital assets used in cyber crime when it announced the landmark seizure of $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin and charged two people with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The arrests came months after the DOJ announced the creation of a cryptocurrency task force, and highlighted the agency's strengthened sophistication to delve into the nascent industry and the darkweb, which are often associated with anonymity.  And, as Law.com's Nate Robson writes in this week's Law.com Barometer newsletter, the news also highlights that DOJ's investigative techniques have judicial support. "This latest success indicates DOJ's crypto enforcement team is ready for primetime," Robson writes, noting that U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui praised the DOJ's search techniques, which relied on various algorithms and clustering software to identify patterns within the blockchain. "It is human nature to assess technological confidential sources with greater skepticism. Yet humans are 'Flawed. Weak. Organic,' whereas clustering software strives for perfection," Faruqui wrote, quoting a line from the movie "Star Trek First Contact." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Theresa House of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer has entered an appearance for BetMGM LLC, an online casino, in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The case, filed Nov. 22 in New Jersey District Court by Kluger Healey and Garteiser Honea PLLC on behalf of Beteiro LLC, asserts four patents related to gaming activity and sporting events. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Christine P. O'Hearn, is 1:21-cv-20156, Beteiro, LLC v. Betmgm, LLC 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.