What's Keeping Law Firm Leaders Up at Night: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
January 13, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
UP ALL NIGHT - Yesterday in this space we told you about how law firm leaders are trying to keep a positive mental attitude about the remainder of 2023, despite significant headwinds. But, as Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, there are a host of factors beyond a firm's control that are keeping firm leaders and partners up at night. Inflation and the global economy; the war in Ukraine; and the lingering effects of the pandemic, among them, all may influence a law firm's trajectory and profits this year—and all of these circumstances are wildly unpredictable. In interviews with more than a dozen law firm leaders, many identified these external factors as some of their top concerns in 2023.
CANCELED FLIGHT? - While the phrase "flight to quality" unfairly suggests providers outside the Am Law 50 or 100 aren't top notch, the willingness to seek out the counsel and the pay the rates of those high-end law firms was in full effect during the pandemic. Companies had more issues that warranted a price-insensitive approach to legal advice and they wanted the best brands to help guide them on these unprecedented, existential crises. But, as Law.com's Gina Passarella writes in this week's Barometer newsletter, that has started to shift. Economic constraints coupled with more routine legal issues have put other providers (smaller or boutique law firms and ALSPs) in the hunt for more legal work. To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.
ON THE RADAR - Visa and Mastercard were hit with an antitrust lawsuit Thursday in New York Eastern District Court. The suit, brought by McKool Smith on behalf of Rum Point Recovery and North Side Recovery, accuses the defendants of conspiring to avoid competing for merchants' acceptance of their cards. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:23-cv-00232, Rum Point Recovery LLC et al. v. Visa Inc. et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
EDITOR'S PICKS
NALP Report Shows Small Gains of Diversity in Law Firms By Christine Charnosky |
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Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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