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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

DON'T START - Cooley has delayed its start date for incoming associates from November to January 2024, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The firm's incoming class, of more than 100 lawyers, will be provided a $10,000 stipend. Cooley declined to comment. It is the second firm to defer its fall class, fresh off Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian's announcement of layoffs and deferrals last week. But will this become a trend?  As Law.com's Jessie Yount reports, industry consultants and recruiters had mixed views. "Right now, firms are having to balance their priorities in keeping their current associate ranks and integrating the associates set to start in the fall," said Summer Eberhard, a partner and legal recruiter at Major, Lindsey & Africa. "Law firms saw the impact of these decisions years after the recession and so I imagine they are treading with caution and getting creative, like delaying fall associates' start dates to address these challenges."

OMINOUS CLOUD -  Proskauer Rose is investigating a data breach after large tranches of sensitive client information were found to be publicly accessible from its cloud-based site, highlighting the vulnerabilities that can exist when organizations transition their internal data to the cloud. The New York-based law firm said in a statement Tuesday that a third-party vendor who was contracted to set up the cloud site on Microsoft Azure "misconfigured" the site's security, which left the client data on the site vulnerable to an unauthorized actor and anyone else with access to the internet. As Law.com's Justin Henry reports, cyber experts said the Am Law 50 firm's recently discovered cyber exposure highlights the lack of clarity between an organization and third-party vendors as to who is responsible for protecting sensitive information once it's been stored on a cloud-based storage system.

ON THE RADAR - Tesla was hit with a wrongful death lawsuit April 11 in California Superior Court for Santa Clara County. The lawsuit was filed by Bailey & Glasser LLP on behalf of Donna Leach and the estate of decedent Clyde Leach. According to the complaint, the decedent owned a Tesla Model Y vehicle with hands-free driving features. The suit alleges that the vehicle suddenly accelerated and drove off of the road while its hands-free mode was engaged, crashing and causing an 'uncontrollable' fire that killed the decedent. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is Leach v. Tesla. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

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