Will Morgan & Morgan's New Policy Spark a Courtroom Backlash?: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
April 11, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
Professional Culture
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
NO MORE MR. NICE FIRM - A recent internal memo at massive plaintiffs firm Morgan & Morgan forbade its attorneys from extending professional courtesies to insurance defense lawyers. "Under no circumstances will we be agreeing to any continuances, discovery extensions, or request to extend deadline to answer complaints," said the memo, which was posted on several websites, including the ABA Journal. "Red line rules. It will be a serious internal offense if we find any courtesies being extended to the insurance industry." A follow-up memo clarified that attorneys should follow Rules of Professional Conduct and civil procedure and that they should determine what to do in each case, but, as Law.com's Alexander Lugo reports, several legal community observers are questioning whether this hardliner approach will be practical and even appropriate in the courtroom.
ASSOCIATES SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS? - The now-viral Paul Hastings presentation about being online "24/7" with no excuses or exceptions may have been delivered by a senior associate, but observers told Law.com's Patrick Smith that the episode speaks volumes about the firm as a whole. "This is really reflective of the firm," Deborah Farone, the former chief marketing officer of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Debevoise & Plimpton and founder of legal consulting firm Farone Advisors, said. "This ended up in the hands of someone who didn't quite know how to say what they wanted to say. There needs to be a reinforcement of culture and moments of teaching. If you really want an associate to lead a group, you need to take the responsibility to train them."
ON THE RADAR - Medtronic and Aziyo Biologics were slapped with a product liability lawsuit Monday in Arizona District Court. The suit, brought by Tucker & Miller on behalf of Marilyn Colvert and Robert Colvert, pertains to a lot of Aziyo FiberCel Viable Bone Matrix that was contaminated with Myobacterium tuberculosis (TB). The lot was recalled in June 2021. The case is 2:23-cv-00599, Colvert et al. v. Aziyo Biologics Inc. et al. 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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