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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

PAY PREDICTABILITY - There's something to be said for never knowing quite what to expect. It keeps you from stagnating and becoming complacent. Nothing wrong with livin' on the edge a little, right? But, when it comes to getting paid by your law firm, maybe we could dial back the drama just a smidge. In Silicon Valley right now, as Law.com's Jessie Yount reports, firms with unpredictable pay scales have found themselves at a distinct competitive disadvantage compared to the droves of elite Wall Street and British-born firms that have entered the market in recent years, many of whom have lockstep compensation models. Lockstep firms have a "huge advantage" when it comes to service partners, according to Major, Lindsey & Africa legal recruiter Bob Brigham, because compensation is based only on seniority, and does not depend on credit for originations or rainmaking ability. Service partners at these firms are likely to make nearly the same as an M&A or capital markets partner. Others pointed out that lockstep is particularly beneficial to young partners, who have the time and the runway to reap the benefits of the seniority-based system. "For a promising mid-career partner to know it is all upside from here, that they'll get a raise on day one and their compensation will go up every year for the next 10 years, that can be an appealing sell," says Keith Wetmore, a colleague of Brigham's at MLA and the former chair of Morrison & Foerster.

EXPERTISE IN NFTs - Good morning, in-house counsel! Hey, if you're not doing anything at the moment, how about you go ahead and learn everything there is to know about non-fungible tokens? K, thanks! As Law.com's Heather Nevitt writes in the latest Law.com Barometer newsletter, the discussion around the metaverse and specifically NFTs seems to have gone from 0-10 overnight, with a host of tricky legal and regulatory issues companies entering the field must navigate. This emerging area can be challenging to understand, but even more so for general counsel that are tasked with mitigating any type of potential regulatory or enforcement risk to their company. They need to have answers when internal stakeholders ask them to identify potential risks and opportunities in the emerging space and how it may impact the company. To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Lowe's has turned to attorneys Ury Fischer and Giulia Christine Farrior of Lott & Fischer and Steven Malin of the Law Office of Steve Malin to fend off a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The action, filed April 8 in Florida Middle District Court by Allen, Dyer, Doppelt, & Gilchrist, accuses Lowe's of selling patio and outdoor umbrellas which infringe on plaintiff ATLeisure's patented technology for opening an umbrella via a solar-powered crank. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger, is 6:22-cv-00682, ATLeisure, LLC v. Lowe's Home Centers, LLC. >> 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.

SAVING FACES - Johnson & Johnson Consumer was hit with a biometric privacy class action Thursday in New Jersey District Court. The complaint contends that the company's Neutrogena Skin360 app, which delivers personalized skin care recommendations, collects and stores facial scans in violation the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. The suit is backed by brought by Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman; Parasmo Lieberman Law and the Law Office of Allen Schwartz. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 3:22-cv-03149, Melzer v. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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