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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

HYBRID REARRANGEMENTS - Law.com's Andrew Maloney and Patrick Smith interviewed more than a dozen law firm leaders about the growing list of challenges that Big Law itself is grappling with now, from lower law firm demand and the possibility of layoffs to increasing compensation expenses, sensitivity over billing rate increases and, you guessed it, the balance of remote and office work. While some of these pressures were around in past years, Big Law leaders and analysts suggested they are reaching an inflection point. Meanwhile, the hybrid work issue continues to confound decision-makers.  In-person work mandates have been implemented, rejected, tweaked and defied throughout the pandemic era. This year, more firms are likely to choose whether such policies are the best way to bring people back, or even whether they really need people back in an office. "Getting people to come back in the office is continuing to be a challenge," said one Am Law 100 leader. "The real question is: do we lay down the law? Or is the cost of doing that not worth the price we will pay?"

D.C. CONFIDENTIAL - The SEC sued Covington & Burling last week, demanding it provide identities of clients affected by a 2020 cyberattack. Regulators said the sought-after information is crucial to their investigation into possible securities violations resulting from the attack. But white-collar lawyers Law.com's Justin Henry spoke to generally agreed that having to disclose client names at regulators' whim would be detrimental to the attorney-client relationship. While the impact of the subpoena remains to be seen, those familiar with SEC litigation were taken aback by the idea of the regulatory agency targeting such a substantial legal presence. "It's a big step to switch the focus from the clients to the law firms," said one lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous to be able to speak freely.

ON THE RADAR - IBM and its top officials were hit with a securities class action Friday in New York Southern District Court. The suit, brought by the Rosen Law Firm and Evangelista Worley LLC, alleges that IBM insiders engaged in a multi-year fraud to shift revenues from its mainframe business to strategic growth areas. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 7:23-cv-00332, June E. Adams Irrevocable Trust Dated 7/21/14 Fbo Edward Robert Adams, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, v. International Business Machines Corporation et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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