Law Firm Merger Activity Gains Momentum: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
April 05, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
Law Firm Mergers
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
TAPPING INTO A TREND - In recent years, data privacy laws have often served as springboards for waves of wiretapping claims being brought across the country. The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) is the latest catalyst for such cases. Of course, as Law.com's Cassandre Coyer reports, wiretapping doesn't quite look like it did when the CIPA was first passed. Long gone are hidden tape recorders, which have now been replaced by mouse movement trackers and recorded conversations with chatbots. But as the meaning of wiretapping conversations expanded, it opened the door to lawsuits being brought under decades-old laws. And technology giant Apple might be the latest victim of such a litigation trend—if not the most visible.
MERGER MOMENTUM - Everybody's getting together! Law firm mergers are on an upswing across the legal industry this year—particularly ones motivated by geographic expansion, according to a new report. The latest example: Armstrong Teasdale announcing this week that it was planting a flag in a new location via a merger. As Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, the St. Louis-based firm, No. 166 in last year's Am Law 200, is opening in Chicago by joining forces with Novack and Macey, a litigation boutique with roughly 25 lawyers. The combination became official April 1. Overall, there were 16 completed mergers during the first quarter of the year, up from 14 during the same time span last year, according to a report Monday from Fairfax Associates. "We expect the increase in merger activity in the first quarter to continue as 2023 unfolds. Law firms remain interested in not only geographic growth but in deepening core practices and building on sector strength," the Fairfax analysts wrote.
ON THE RADAR - Michaels Stores was hit with an employment class action on Tuesday in New York Southern District Court. The suit, filed by Joseph & Kirschenbaum, alleges that cashiers, sales associates and other employees are "manual workers" and are therefore entitled to a weekly paycheck under the New York Labor Law. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 1:23-cv-02827, Van Woglom v. Michaels Stores Inc. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
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Who Got The Work
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.
Who Got The Work
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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