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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

AUTUMN OF AUSTERITY? - Top law firms are beginning to show signs of belt-tightening following the frenzied lateral hiring market in corporate practices in 2021, Law.com's Justin Henry reports. Multiple firms in the Am Law 50 have reportedly begun to take measures aimed at managing their attorney ranks. Cooley has implemented a freeze on hiring associates, sources close to the firm have told The American Lawyer. Leaders at Cooley declined to comment for this story, but a spokesperson denied the existence of an "official hiring freeze" at the firm. While the firm on Wednesday announced the hire of a partner who had left her last role in June, the firm has otherwise not unveiled any new hires since early July, following a busy first half of 2022. Meanwhile, sources close to Reed Smith said the global law firm is dealing with profitability gaps between its London office and lower-performing locations, including its oldest office in Pittsburgh, leading the firm to let go of more senior lawyers without significant books.

FOREVER AFTER -  Hey, look at that, the plaintiffs and defense bars finally see eye-to-eye on something: PFAS and PFOA cases—environmental claims involving "forever chemicals"—are the next hot litigation trend. "I see this as a snowball rolling downhill, and it's just getting bigger and faster as it proceeds," Cohen Milstein partner Theodore J. Leopold told Law.com's Christine Schiffner. His firm has been involved in PFAS litigation for several months, including against chemical manufacturer DuPont for allegedly contaminating Cape Fear river in North Carolina. "We are just scratching the surface," he added referring to the total amount of damages that has occurred to water systems by the use of these toxic chemicals. "Because it's in our water now, it's in people, it's in sewage, rain, dust, dirt—and it's going to continue to recirculate," Hunton Andrews Kurth partner Alexandra B. Cunningham said, describing the scope of the problem. Her firm—like many others—recently created a PFAS group to meet the growing demand in this field. "There's a large number of people affected, governments, private parties, there's a lot of property damage, personal injury and the number of cases is growing daily," Seeger Weiss partner Matthew F. Pawa said. He believes that this area of litigation could be on par "with some of the biggest litigations in American history."

WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Archis A. Parasharami of Mayer Brown has entered an appearance for Altice USA, a telecommunications company providing an array of network services, and Cebridge Telecom CA LLC in a pending consumer class action. The case, which accuses Altice subsidiary Suddenlink of breaching an agreement to charge customers a flat monthly rate for broadcast and sports programming services, was filed July 27 in California Northern District Court by Hattis & Lukacs; and DeNittis Osefchen Prince. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen, is 3:22-cv-04346, Baker et al v. Cebridge Telecom CA, LLC et al. >> 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 - Martha Stewart Living and cannabis company Canopy Growth were hit with a copyright and trade dress infringement lawsuit on Wednesday in Oregon District Court. The suit was filed by Perkins Coie on behalf of Northwest Natural Goods, a Portland-based cannabis edibles company known for its popular brand 'Wyld.' The complaint accuses the defendants of launching a line of CBD products with packaging nearly identical to Wyld's. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 3:22-cv-01340, Northwest Natural Goods LLC v. Canopy Growth USA LLC et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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