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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

RARE COMBINATIONS - When it comes to available midsize law firm mergers, there aren't exactly plenty of fish in the sea. Though behind-the-scenes merger discussions are abundant, there are fewer and fewer opportunities that make strategic sense, consultants told Law.com's Jessie Yount. "Every time a deal happens, there is one less person looking for a deal. Each subsequent deal has more baggage," said Mike Short, co-founding principal of LawVision. "There is no perfect 30-lawyer corporate boutique with an amazing book of business left." While some midsize firms are highly protective of their culture and size, others that are extremely successful within a niche or a specific jurisdiction likely prefer to run on their own, according to Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie managing partner Kenneth Van Winkle. Simply put: "Those that were interested [in a deal] have already merged, and the good firms still out there probably aren't interested," Van Winkle said.

OPPORTUNITY COST - The avalanche of transactional work since late 2020 has done wonders for law firms' bottom lines, but it hasn't been without its drawbacks. As Law.com's Dan Packel reports, this increase in deals has also led to a striking number of high-value legal malpractice claims. When joined with a growing level of cybersecurity risk, it should be no surprise law firms' overall insurance expenses are on the rise. Several legal malpractice experts believe that the alignment of spiking demand with a tight talent market is creating an environment where attorneys in transactional practices are putting in more hours than ever—and consequently making more errors. And there's some sentiment that remote work has also introduced more into the process. "The large international firms are doing work at a crazy level, especially on the transactional side. Combine that with the effects of COVID, with eight to 10 attorneys on the same deal not being in same room. You've got overworked lawyers going from 2,400 hours now to 2,800 or 3,000," said Hinshaw & Culbertson partner Matthew Henderson. "Combine all these factors together and it's a perfect storm."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - John Cannizzaro and Daniel M. Anderson of Ice Miller have stepped in as defense counsel to motorcycle parts provider Arlen Ness Enterprises Inc. in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The action, filed March 15 in California Northern District Court by Whitewood Law pursues claims on behalf of Amazon sellers whom seek a declaration of non-infringement in connection with using the "deep cut" mark. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathanael M. Cousins, is 5:22-cv-01656, Httmt Group LLC et al v. Arlen Ness Enterprises, Inc. >>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.