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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

LATENT LATERAL LAG? - If it seemed like Am Law 200 firms were hiring a litany of lateral partners in 2022, that was indeed the case, despite economic troubles and the constraints of a tight hiring market, Law.com's Brenda Sapino Jeffreys reports. Am Law 200 firms hired 3,633 lateral partners in fiscal 2022—from Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022—compared with 3,066 partner hires in fiscal year 2021—an 18.5% increase at a time when factors such as inflation and uncertainty about a coming recession may have slowed firms' hiring efforts, according to data from Law.com Compass. Unfortunately, departures didn't slow down during that time period either. "Partner departures from Am Law 200 firms outpaced additions by more than 40% from Q4 '21 through Q3 '22," noted Patrick Fuller, VP of ALM Intelligence. The question now is: will law firms pump the brakes on hiring this year? So far, at least, that does not seem to be the plan.

GRATING EXPECTATIONS - Litigators who use modern trial advocacy methods sometimes have to contend with clients who seek to impose their firmly held, but sometimes misguided, beliefs about how to present a case to jurors. Coping with such clients is not for the weak of heart, since issues such as money, ethics and respect are implicated, and the best way to deal with such clients might be to part ways, some lawyers said. But, as Law.com's Charles Toutant reports, cultivating trust with a client can minimize the risk of such conflicts. As John Blumberg, a Long Beach, California, lawyer who writes about trial advocacy, explained: "I tell every client at the beginning of the case, 'I've studied the facts as carefully as I can, and there's no doubt in my mind that I will find out things that I don't know right now, and that will alter my view of the case and my strategy, and this is an ongoing process.'"

ON THE RADAR - Former NBA All-Star George Gervin sued Ralph Lauren Wednesday in New York Southern District Court in relation to Ralph Lauren's line of retro-style 1970's hightop sneakers called the 'Gervin Mid.' The lawsuit, filed by Garson, Segal, Steinmetz, Fladgate LLP, contends that the defendant used Gervin's name and likeness without his consent. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 1:23-cv-01284, Gervin v. Ralph Lauren Corporation. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar. 

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