Big Law's Path to Office Mandates: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
July 27, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.
|
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
INFLEXIBILITY INFLECTION POINT? - In the space of a year, Big Law moved from hiring many remote lawyers and trying to convince associates to join their firm with big bonuses, to mandating several days in the office and tying bonuses to office attendance. As we've noted in the space many times before, that shift is due to a confluence of factors both contemporary—declining demand, slower associate lateral movement, lifted COVID restrictions—and classic (see "the legal industry's resistance to change."). Still, it's worth noting that many law firms are arguably still more flexible now than they ever were pre-pandemic. As Lisa Pilotto, chief recruiting officer at Polsinelli, told Law.com's Andrew Maloney: "I do believe personally there is real value in people interacting and spending time with one another and training and work product, but does that have to happen on a mandated level every day? No. I haven't come across anyone in recruiting that feels differently."
LEGAL RESEARCH'S LAST RESORT - When it comes to legal research, attorneys aren't exactly swimming in great options. Many of the comprehensive options come with a high price tag, which can be a hurdle for legal professionals, so much so that some may explore riskier options. Some attorneys told Law.com's Isha Marathe that those who practice in non-research heavy areas could be drawn to more low-cost, but ultimately unreliable legal research alternatives such as ChatGPT. "There are areas of practice that are very trial-heavy and not very research heavy … and the iterative part of research [as an e-discovery attorney] is very difficult to do with an AI tool like ChatGPT," said Sara Perkins Jones, the president of Spark eDiscovery. "But for attorneys who focus on [trial-heavy] cases, and don't have as many resources [as Big Law], I could see these types of [AI] tools seeming like an option."
ON THE RADAR - Becton Dickinson, a medical device maker, and other defendants were slapped with a consumer protection lawsuit Wednesday in Alabama Southern District Court over their PowerPort implantable vascular access device. The court case, brought by Wettermark Keith LLC on behalf of Mary Ellis, pursues claims that product defects put PowerPort implant recipients at increased risk of life-threatening injuries, including infections. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:23-cv-00278, Ellis v. Becton Dickinson and Company et al. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.
|
EDITOR'S PICKS
|
|
|
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Legal Departments Gripe About Outside Counsel but Rarely Talk to Them
4 minute read
As Profits Rise, Law Firms Likely to Make More AI Investments in 2025
'Serious Disruptions'?: Federal Courts Brace for Government Shutdown Threat
3 minute read
'So Many Firms' Have Yet to Announce Associate Bonuses, Underlining Big Law's Uneven Approach
5 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 2Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 3Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
- 4Husch Blackwell, Foley Among Law Firms Opening Southeast Offices This Year
- 5In Lawsuit, Ex-Google Employee Says Company’s Layoffs Targeted Parents and Others on Leave
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.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
