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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

INVEST FOR SUCCESS - The 2022 Am Law 100 report is out now and it tells a classic "riches-to-riches" story that is sure to bring a tear to your eye. Following on the heels of a surprisingly successful pandemic year in 2020, the Am Law 100 hit another gear in 2021, boasting 12.5% growth in revenue per lawyer and a 19.4% spike in profits per equity partner. Unfortunately, there's no time to celebrate as we continue barreling into the future. It's already almost May 2022, which means firms that don't already know how they're going to invest their windfall better start figuring it out now because record high demand is not likely to last forever. And, as Law.com's Dan Packel reports, building consensus on what to do with all that money is easier said than done. "It's an age-old challenge for firms because they are cash-based and they find it hard to set money aside for the future," Fairfax Associates principal Lisa Smith said. "But investments in laterals, technology, business professionals—all of those things should be on the table any time there is an abundance of resources."

DISABLING ABLEISM - Law students with disabilities often struggle to balance trying to fit in to an incredibly competitive environment with trying to get the accommodations they need to succeed, all while fighting the constant worry that they will be viewed as less capable than their peers, Law.com's Christine Charnosky reports. "I felt afraid to ask for other accommodations that probably would have been helpful because law school is very competitive," attorney Britney R. Wilson, who has cerebral palsy, told Charnosky about her time in law school. Disability is often overlooked in the broader conversation around diversity in the legal profession, which can make self-advocacy even more difficult. But Wilson, who is now associate professor of law and director of the Civil Rights and Disability Justice clinic at New York Law School, said that seeking greater equality and accessibility for disabled law students is not just about "getting a seat at the table," as the cliché goes. As Wilson put it: "there's something wrong with the table." "People are different and it's not a horrible thing," Wilson said. "It's the treatment of people with disabilities that is the issue."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Five Below, a teen-centric discount retailer, was slapped with an employment class action Wednesday in New York Eastern District Court over alleged failure to pay timely wages in accordance with New York state law. The complaint, brought by Bursor & Fisher, contends that store employees whose work includes stocking inventory, cleaning and operating the cash register qualify as manual workers under New York's Labor Law. The suit accuses the company of violating a requirement to pay the workers on a weekly basis. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 2:22-cv-02253, Krawitz et al v. Five Below, 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.