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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

PAY YOUR DUES - Looks like lawyers across the country won't be closing out their bar tabs any time soon. Yesterday, as Law.com's Adolfo Pesquera reports, the U.S. Supreme Court denied three petitions challenging mandatory state bar associations, preserving the institutions' existence in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs in all three cases—Taylor v. Heat (Michigan), Schell v. Darby (Oklahoma) and McDonald v. Firth (Texas)—argued that bar associations engaging in political and ideological activities offend some members by infringing on their rights to freedom of association and free speech. In response to the SCOTUS denials, Texas State Bar President Sylvia B. Firth said her organization was "pleased the Court continues to recognize the longstanding precedent that supports the mandatory bar structure. Thirty other states and the District of Columbia use a mandatory bar structure because it is a proven, effective way to regulate the legal profession and improve the quality of legal services provided to the public." Meanwhile, in a tweet, the lead plaintiff in the Texas matter, Tony McDonald of Austin, summed up the appellate process quite succinctly: "It's funny how this high-level constitutional litigation works. You read a SCOTUS opinion, go 'I think they want to overturn decision X' and then launch several years of litigation to claw your way to SCOTUS and learn 'Nah, I guess not.'"

STAYING SINGLE - There's been a lot of pressure on law firms in recent years to get hitched. But it seems like many firms are simply too focused on their careers to settle down right now. That's according to consulting firm Fairfax Associates, which said in a new report that merger activity in the first quarter of 2022 has been "surprisingly quiet," declining from last year and falling well below the historical average in what is normally the busy season for completing law firm combinations. Lisa Smith, a principal at Fairfax, told Law.com's Andrew Maloney that the slow pace to start could portend a slow year overall.  The firm counts mergers that are actually finalized per quarter, rather than just announced. Law firms often aim to finalize mergers at the start of the calendar year to make operations and financial integration easier. However, firms are still being challenged by COVID-19, the analysts concluded, and the amount of demand from clients is making it tough to devote enough resources to mergers, even for firms that are interested in linking up. "[T]he logistical challenges of negotiating and completing mergers are real, especially in a remote and high-demand environment," the report said, adding that growth through mergers "requires a significant commitment of leadership time and resources."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Sean A. Commons, T. Robert Scarborough and Christopher M. Assise of Sidley Austin have stepped in as defense counsel to American Family Insurance Company in a pending data breach class action. The complaint, filed Feb. 15 in California Northern District Court by Cole & Van Note, accuses AmFam of failing to implement adequate data security measures arising from a Dec. 2021 breach impacting the personal and financial information of current clients. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Sallie Kim, is 3:22-cv-00939, Kowarsky v. American Family Life Insurance Company. >> Read the filing 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.