Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

MISSOURI LOVES COMPANY - Several law firms with roots in the Show Me State saw double-digit revenue growth in 2022, highlighting how firms in the heart of the U.S. often outperformed peers on the East and West coasts last year. Missouri-based and founded firms leaned on what was left of the historic deal boom in 2021, as well as thriving middle-market transactions, varied litigation practices and continued lateral growth to achieve revenue gains, while profit growth was more mixed or negligible. Several of these Kansas City or St. Louis firms also told Law.com's Andrew Maloney that they are interested in combinations or adding new offices in new markets to continue to scale as the year progresses.

GIVE IT TO SOMEONE SPECIAL -  The rise of generative AI has upped the ante on one of the biggest decisions in-house attorneys can make: whether to cast themselves as generalists or as specialists. A recent study by Gartner found in-house generalist roles are on the decline, with those posts at growing risk of being replaced by nonlawyer staff, automation or specialized applications. "The reality is that there are a lot of generalists out there, and likely many companies believe that they can always get someone to carry out a generalist function at a junior and more cost-friendly level," Michael Sachs, a partner with Major, Lindsey & Africa's in-house counsel recruiting group, told Law.com's Trudy Knockless. Recruiters said it's a difficult issue for ambitious in-house counsel to navigate, because at different stages of their career employers have different needs.

ON THE RADAR - Fox News and its board of directors were hit with a shareholder derivative lawsuit Tuesday in Delaware Court of Chancery over the alleged promotion of a false narrative of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The court action contends that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the company after defamation lawsuits brought by voting machine companies Dominion and Smartmatic revealed that Rupert Murdoch and other members of the board were aware that the story of election fraud was false but allowed it to be promoted by the media outlet in order to maintain the network's ratings by appealing to Donald Trump supporters. The court case was brought by Heyman, Enerio, Gattuso & Hirzel and Gardy & Notis. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2023-0418, Robert Schwarz v. K. Rupert Murdoch. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS