Lawyers' Low Tolerance for Tough-Talking Bosses: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
May 03, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
DON'T BE CRUEL - Law firm leaders who don't adapt their communication styles—particularly moving away from top-down, old-school "tough guy" talk—to a changing workforce risk alienating workers and enduring unwanted backlash. As Law.com's Patrick Smith and Hank Grezlak report, what people want in their leaders and the way they want leaders to communicate has been changing and it's been accelerated by the pandemic as well as generational differences, legal consultants said. In other words, folks want Ted Lasso, not Bobby Knight.
ARE BILLABLES KILLABLE? - Rave to a law firm about how much more efficient generative AI has the potential to make their client work and the response may not be as enthusiastic as you'd hope. After all, the still-dominant billable-hour model does not exactly reward time-saving measures. But, as Law.com's Jessie Yount reports, there are plenty of industry observers who believe AI could accelerate a trend they say is already emerging. "Historically, in the absence of data analytics and tools that allow you to derive insights, people were paying for prestige and relationships," said Nathan Cemenska, the director of legal operations and industry insights at Wolters Kluwer's ELM Solutions. "Going forward, GCs are saying things like, 'We're buying an outcome from you.' Or, in an RFP context, 'Here is the outcome we're looking for, and how low can you go?'"
ON THE RADAR - Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner filed a trade secret lawsuit Tuesday in North Carolina Middle District Court on behalf of data integration and analysis company Feedstation Inc., which mainly serves the aftermarket for automobile parts. The complaint targets former Feedstation employee Harry Park and Tromml LLC, a competing company Park co-founded after leaving his position at Feedstation. The suit alleges that Park used his previous position at Feedstation to steal trade secrets, including data on clients and parts suppliers, from the plaintiff. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:23-cv-00361, Feedstation v. Tromml 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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