25. Operation Sparkle: The Law Firm Perspective
There is a disconnect in the attorney-client relationship, and law firms may be perpetuating it while thinking they're fixing it.
May 20, 2022 at 01:59 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Lean Adviser
The last series in this module focussed on the attorney-client experience, and how this is really a single shared journey. Now we move on to look at the disconnect in the legal market, and the right and wrong ways to bridge it.
This lesson isn't a true story, but it is a fusion of several. A sizable law firm, let's call them Diamond LLP, decided to rethink their marketing game. This was a response to competition from all sides, including the legal departments of their clients, increasingly eating their lunch. They devised "Operation Sparkle" — a plan to defend their territory and get more work. Using Operation Sparkle, Diamond LLP shined up their marketing collateral. To do this, they reached out to all their partners and associates for content, war stories, awards, anything shiny. They used this on their revamped website and all their RFP responses. Expertise was extolled, deals were decorated and wins were worshiped. The launch of Operation Sparkle was cascaded across the firm with clear messaging and a call to arms: Go sell Diamond LLP on these clear values.
By any objective metric, Operation Sparkle was a flop. Those who were eating Diamond LLP's lunch continued to do so, and any new business they got was for other reasons. We tell this story to highlight the disconnect in our legal market, and the next lesson will revisit it from the client's perspective.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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