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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE SUMMER BEFORE THE BUMMER - Law firms want you working in the office more frequently—but first, allow them to demonstrate just how unnecessary that is. Several big law firms have instituted new policies that will allow lawyers to work wherever they want during the month of August. But legal industry analysts told Law.com's Patrick Smith that these moves are merely an attempt by law firms to gain some goodwill during what is already a slower time period in law firm offices and, in fact, may actually be the last gasp of flexibility before they start enforcing policies of three days or more in the office. It's illogical! It's twisted! It totally checks out! "This is an attempt by law firms to look good at almost no expense," Tom Sharbaugh, former managing partner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius and current professor of practice at Penn State Law School, said. Jessica Cox, a senior executive search associate at Calibrate Legal, said the concept of "remote August" is likely to raise further questions about the value of office work in the long term. But those questions may not need to be answered if an economic downturn shifts the leverage to change remote-working policies away from talent and back to firms, Sharbaugh said. Luckily, as we noted recently, many firms have begun revamping their spaces in ways that will make you thrilled to be forced to work there.

IN CRYPTO WE TRUST - Over the past few years, a handful of law firms had begun accepting cryptocurrency in hopes of attracting tech-forward clients and staying in the know. The past few months, however, have been a rough ride for crypto investors, as Ether and Bitcoin, among other cryptocurrencies, saw significant decreases. Still, as Law.com's Isha Marathe reports, attorneys and consultants are not too worried about firms that had begun accepting cryptocurrency as payment over the past few years, noting that most have been extremely careful to safeguard against price volatility. What's more, they still believe dipping their toes into the digital asset space will pay off in the long run. Alan Cohn, a partner at Steptoe & Johnson, said the distinction between payments and investments is an important one when it comes to cryptocurrency. "Since we started accepting cryptocurrency, we accepted it as a means of payment, but we didn't accept it as investment similar to stock or equity arrangement like some firms did during the dotcom [bubble]," Cohn said. "We immediately convert the cryptocurrency that we receive into the relevant fiat currency…" Plus, he added, by accepting crypto as payment, "we understand the [legal] challenges of our clients in safely and responsibly handling cryptocurrency, the regulatory issues that come along with it, and the technical and operational issues as well."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - John Kuenstler of Barnes & Thornburg has entered an appearance for Sammann Company Inc. in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit over the ongoing use of the "heat wave" mark. The suit was filed April 20 in California Northern District Court by attorney Roy S. Gordet on behalf of sunglass and eyewear manufacturer Heat Wave Visual Inc. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Alex G. Tse, is 3:22-cv-02444, Heat Wave Visual, Inc. v. Sammann Company, Inc.  >> 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.

ON THE RADAR - Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp filed a copyright infringement lawsuit Wednesday in New York Southern District Court against major recording artist Kanye West and Kano Computing Ltd. The complaint was brought on behalf of Ultra International Music Publishing, which asserts that West's song 'Flowers' samples the 1986 Marshall Jefferson single 'Move Your Body' 22 times without authorization or payment. The suit arises from the defendants' claim of millions of dollars in sales of their 'Stem Player,' a device specifically designed for listening to West's latest album, Donda 2. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:22-cv-05560, Ultra International Music Publishing, LLC v. West et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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