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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

HERE COME THE SUITS - In-house counsel predict that litigation will spike over the next two years, driven up by the uncertain economy as well as the geopolitical and regulatory environments, according to a new study from the legal finance firm Burford Capital. As Law.com's Hugo Guzman reports, the survey, based on interviews with 66 GCs, heads of litigation and senior litigation attorneys in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, found 74% of respondents anticipate an increase in dispute volumes and 62% expect their law firms to help them deal with that upturn by offering more cost- and risk-sharing solutions. While it's not exactly shocking that a litigation funder would highlight that last bit, it does track with what we've been hearing in the broader market, particularly in light of the once-in-a-decade leap Big Law rates just took.

A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT - Attorney and staff disengagement—it's a problem not even free bagels in the breakroom could solve. Still, as Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, law firms are trying a host of other potential remedies, according to firm leaders and industry observers: experimenting with multiple in-office policies, pinpointing the most valuable interactions, and reorganizing teams to get the most out of them. More broadly, leaders are also trying to spark a sense of pride and ownership in their law firms for the next generation, a sense they feel has diminished since the pandemic and as younger employees were already becoming more independent. But that's not going to happen overnight. "Everybody feels the pain of needing more engagement, but I think nailing how to address it is [complex]," said Kent Zimmermann, a law firm consultant for Zeughauser Group, adding, "This is not easy. It's a long-term fix."

ON THE RADAR - XGetty Images, Vox Media, the Los Angeles Times and other defendants were slapped with a copyright infringement lawsuit Monday in California Central District Court. The court action, brought on behalf of music photographer Alec Byrne, asserts the copyrights for photographs of musical groups ABBA, Fleetwood Mac and others. The suit was filed by McCulloch Kleinman Law and the Law Office of Andrew Delahunt. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2:23-cv-05040, Byrne v. Getty Images (US), Inc. et al. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.   

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