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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE CUTS CONTINUE - Goodwin Procter has announced plans to cut attorneys, paralegals and other business professionals across "multiple U.S. offices" due to macro-economic headwinds and a slowdown in demand, according to an internal memo sent to employees Thursday and obtained by The American Lawyer. As Law.com's Jessie Yount reports, the layoffs affected associates and professional track attorneys, as well as paralegals, science advisors and GO! Team members, which is the firm's global operations team. Overall, that accounts for a 5% reduction in those groups, the memo said. The exact number of attorneys affected, and the specific offices in which the layoffs took place, were not immediately clear. The firm memo said the layoffs are a result of an economic downturn that created a slowdown in demand at the firm following a demand environment that reached "extraordinary heights" in the past several years, and led the firm to increase its lawyer population by 60% between 2019 and October 2022.

COURTING DISASTER - The COVID-19 pandemic hasn't yet subsided, but courts are already considering how to gear up for the next calamity. As Law.com's Alaina Lancaster reports, judges and litigators have been vocal about the pandemic-era operations they would prefer to keep or discard since the beginning of the global health crisis, including a divisive debate about the role of virtual proceedings. In recent months, the legal community has proposed more permanent rule changes around remote technology, trial readiness and deadlines seeking to address the next emergency that might threaten court operations—or increase access to justice overall. However, some of the proposals might not stick. Despite efforts to present a more cohesive front in the face of emergencies, concerns about the negative effects of remote technology on clients and the profession might lead to a continued patchwork of rules at local levels. To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

ON THE RADAR - Gupta Wessler filed a civil rights class action Thursday in New York Eastern District Court against the City of New York and David Do, the Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC). The complaint accuses TLC of running sting operations of undercover inspectors at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy Airports to entrap drivers into violating New York's 'Street Hail Law,' which prohibits street hails without the appropriate TLC license. According to the suit, the sting operations disproportionately target people of color, immigrants or people with limited English proficiency. The class is also represented by Pollock Cohen LLP and Mobilization for Justice. The case is 1:23-cv-00065, Miller et al v. City of New York et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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