Layoffs Hit Big Law, Legal Tech: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
December 01, 2022 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
COOLEY CUTS - Cooley has laid off 78 attorneys and 72 paralegals and business professionals across its U.S. offices, due to a period of overhiring in the last two years followed by a slump in demand, according to an internal memo. A majority of the lawyers who have been affected are associates, along with a few counsel, a person familiar with the cuts told Law.com's Justin Henry, adding no partners were laid off.
TECH ISSUES - The legal technology sector could also be in for a painful stretch. Last week, legal tech platform Reynen Court announced that it would be nixing its recently rolled out online stock offering and cutting staff as a cost-reduction strategy. While it's unclear how many people will be let go, company CEO Andrew Klein confirmed to Law.com's Isha Marathe that layoffs will indeed happen. In the days following the news, some observers expressed surprise, while others said they had doubts all along—but hindsight is 20/20. What they all agreed on, however, was that Reynen Court's cutbacks might be the canary in the coal mine for legal tech companies. Indeed, after a year of aggressive hiring across all industries, a possible recession and consistent supply chain issues might lead to more widespread cost-cutting measures in the legal tech market.
ON THE RADAR - The Walt Disney Company was hit with an antitrust class action on Wednesday in California Northern District Court in connection with live TV streaming services. The suit, brought by Bathaee Dunn, is part of a string of cases accusing Disney of misusing its ownership of Hulu and ESPN to negotiate anticompetitive carriage agreements, causing the price of live TV streaming services to double above the market value. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 5:22-cv-07533, Fendelander et al. v. Walt Disney Co. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
| Nearly Half Proposed Exactech Legal Team Would Lead an MDL for First Time By Amanda Bronstad |
| Divided State Court Ruling Sparks 'a Lot of Uncertainty' About Workers' Comp for Mental Injuries, Attorneys Say By Allison Dunn |
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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.
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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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