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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

NATURAL SELECTION -  Large firms likely won't have mass attorney layoffs in the near future, even with demand flat, compensation expenses up and productivity down. Still, job security is not guaranteed. In a reverse of last year, firms will likely look to "rightsize" attorney ranks, some analysts say, by sticking to performance review measures, transferring associates to other practices and letting natural attrition take shape. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, some observers predict that associates who left for larger firms may boomerang back to smaller and regional firms as a result of any of these Big Law measures. A more protracted or sudden economic downturn could change the Big Law calculus to move to layoffs and forced reductions, some observers said. But for now, law firms can adhere closely to performance reviews to manage some ranks, they added. "We do see firms, now that demand isn't quite as high, are looking at how to rightsize a bit," said Lisa Smith, a principal at Fairfax Associates, adding that law firms may apply more scrutiny when it comes to performance reviews, but that it won't necessarily be the most recent acquisitions who are under the microscope. "It's not a last-in, first-out kind of approach. It's who is the best talent? And being maybe a bit more deliberate about performance management in an environment where demand isn't quite as high as it was," she said.

RENEWED IRE - We've come a long way from the days when subscriptions were mostly just for magazines and the Jelly of the Month Club. From streaming media to cooking lessons to clothing, there is seemingly no end to the services consumers can sign up for on a monthly or annual basis. As the recent consumer class action complaint against LinkedIn notes: "Analysts at UBS predict that the subscription economy will expand into a $1.5 trillion market by 2025, up from $650 billion in 2020. That constitutes an average annual growth rate of 18%, which makes the subscription economy 'one of the fastest-growing industries globally.'" And, of course, when any consumer-focused industry booms, it's a safe bet that litigation will follow. Case in point: Law.com Radar has surfaced several consumer class actions in recent weeks targeting defendants, including LinkedIn and Gannett Media, over their allegedly unlawful automatic subscription renewals. In the latest Law.com Litigation Trendspotter column, we examine the allegations in these cases—and why these types of claims appear likely to proliferate.

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Baker McKenzie partners Teresa H. Michaud and Erin McCloskey Maus have stepped in to defend Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC in a consumer class action over the company's PlayStation 5 gaming console. The case, filed July 12 in Illinois Northern District Court by McGuire Law, claims that the consoles have a defect that causes them to power down without warning while games are in play. Michaud, who is based in Los Angeles, leads Baker McKenzie's interactive entertainment group and is co-chair of the firm's North America class action practice. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger, is 1:22-cv-03603, Trejo v. Sony Interactive Entertainment 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.

ON THE RADAR - Private equity firm Thoma Bravo has agreed to sell Frontline Education, a provider of administration software for educators in K-12, to Roper Technologies Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.7 billion. The transaction, announced Aug. 30, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022. Thoma Bravo and Frontline Education were advised by Kirkland & Ellis. Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Frontline Education was also advised by Cooley LLP. Roper, which is based in Sarasota, Florida, was represented by a Davis Polk & Wardwell team led by partner John D. Amorosi. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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