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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

FROM FOMO TO FEAR  - When it comes to office attendance policies, law firms tried the carrot (a whole spread of carrots, in fact, with hummus! There's some left in the break room). But now, some firms are breaking out the stick. Since December, Law.com's Dan Roe reports, at least five law firms—Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Sidley Austin, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, and Ropes & Gray, according to internal emails published by Above the Law—have told associates that a lack of attendance would cut into their bonuses. And among themselves (and on forums such as Fishbowl), associates are trading notes on whether law firms will follow corporate clients such as BlackRock, which recently announced a four-day weekly attendance mandate.  Still, the vast majority of Am Law 100 firms haven't been known to enact attendance policies as punitive as the aforementioned firms and recruiters, consultants and law firm leaders told Roe there are many factors guiding firms' decisions.

PRIVACY PATCHWORK - Recent state data privacy laws had started to align with Virginia's approach—which itself took its cues from a failed Washington state law—offering a temporary relief to companies collecting user data across the country. But, Law.com's Cassandre Coyer reports, that relief may have been short lived as the Hydra of data privacy regulation adds a couple of more heads. In fact, a new regulatory trend may be emerging, one that takes a more sector-specific approach to protecting consumers' data rights. States like Washington, Utah or Arkansas have recently passed regulations that take a narrower—though compliance-heavy—approach to protecting certain data privacy rights of its constituents. And data privacy professionals say such state laws are likely to become more common.

ON THE RADAR - Showtime Networks and other defendants were hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit Thursday in California Central District Court in connection with the 2014 television series "Penny Dreadful." The lawsuit was brought by White & Case on behalf of Anna Biani, a member of creative writing platform, "Murders & Roses: Victorian London Crime and Scandals." According to the suit, Biani claims that the writers and producers of Penny Dreadful mirrored key characters within the series after four of her original characters without authorization or permission. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2:23-cv-03845, Biani v. Showtime Networks, Inc. et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS

How One State Supreme Court Justice Is Helping Young Litigators Gain Trial Experience By Zack Needles | Alaina Lancaster