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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

BEST COAST - Law firm mergers continued at a steady clip in the third quarter of 2023, according to a new report, with many participants using combinations as a vehicle to launch in a new market. What's more, Law.com's Jessie Yount reports, activity is being driven by firms looking to develop a coast-to-coast presence, with California serving as a particularly hot expansion target. Law firms completed 11 mergers in the third quarter of 2023, for a total of 41 in the first nine months of the year, according to Fairfax Associates. Merger activity is outpacing 2022 and 2021 levels, when 37 and 33 mergers were completed by the same period in the year, respectively.

INTELLIGENCE AND UNDERSTANDING - In-house legal counsel remain wary of artificial intelligence, according to a new survey by Lowenstein Sandler and the Association of Corporate Counsel. Of the 165 U.S. in-house legal professionals who responded to the survey, 64% said they haven't used artificial intelligence for legal tasks. That's despite the fact that 62% see potential for increased productivity. As Law.com's Hugo Guzman reports, the study suggests the hang-up is that in-house attorneys know just enough about AI to realize how much they don't know. Just 12% said they have limited or no awareness of what generative AI can do, while 75% reported at least moderate knowledge.

ON THE RADAR - Saranne E. Weimer of Reed Smith has entered an appearance for medical device manufacturing company Integra LifeSciences and its current and former senior executives in a pending securities class action. The action, filed Sept. 9 in New Jersey District Court by Carella Byrne Cecchi Brody & Agnello and Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman, accuses the defendants of failing to timely rectify issues at its Boston, Massachusetts manufacturing plant after receiving an FDA warning letter in 2018. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp, is 3:23-cv-20321, Pembroke Pines Firefighters & Police Officers Pension Fund v. Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation 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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