Law Firm Mergers Can Mean Headaches for Clients: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
May 30, 2023 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
MARRIAGE OF INCONVENIENCE - When Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling announced their merger plans, they said it was "driven by clients' needs for a seamless global offering of the highest quality and depth." But, as Law.com's Maria Dinzeo reports while in-house attorneys agree that broader expertise can indeed be a major upside of law firm mergers, they also say there can be dark sides, such as new conflicts, administrative hassles and cultural tensions. Kimberly DeCarrera, who was a legal chief and chief financial officer for a nearly a decade before starting her own fractional general counsel business, said conflicts checks are always the No. 1 concern for legal teams when news of a law firm merger breaks. "Obviously there are headaches any time a relationship changes," DeCarrera said.
DEEP TROUBLE - "Deepfakes," which have become more sophisticated and easier to create given the democratization of generative AI tools like Midjourney and DALL-E, are inevitably poised to permeate the legal process. As a result, harmless memes like Pope Francis looking fly in a puffer jacket may soon give way to more sinister deceptions. Courts and e-discovery teams have some tools to deal with the flourishing deepfake technology—but, as Law.com's Isha Marathe reports, much is also up in the air, like the emotional impact on juries, and the potential for long, costly discovery fights.
ON THE RADAR - Smith, Gambrell & Russell filed a trade secret lawsuit late last week in Georgia Northern District Court on behalf of medical staffing company Soliant Health. The suit takes aim at competitor Aequor Healthcare Services for allegedly soliciting Soliant Health employees in order to misappropriate confidential candidate and pricing information from Soliant's database. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendant. The case is 1:23-cv-02354, Soliant Health, LLC v. Aequor Healthcare Services, LLC. 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.
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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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