Law Firms Doing More 'Tire-Kicking' Before Hiring Laterals: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
October 24, 2023 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
HARDER LOOKS AT CLIENT BOOKS - It's a tale as old as time: a lateral partner claims they're bringing all their clients in tow to their new firm, their old firm says all those clients are staying put and, more often than not, the truth is somewhere in the middle. The difference now, however, is that firms are working harder than ever to find that truth before it's too late. As Law.com's Brenda Sapino Jeffreys reports, firms in the market for laterals are not only trying to determine if a prospective hire would be a good fit for the firm, but doing more to determine if the candidate has accurately represented their book of business. Gabriela Cleveland, a founder and principal at Haven Recruiting Group in Dallas, said firms are trying to protect their profitability when adding to their partner ranks with laterals. "They don't want their partners to take a hit."
UNCHECKED - Class members are done cashing checks—they want settlement payments sent directly to their PayPal accounts instead. That is the key finding of the inaugural "Digital Payments in Class Actions and Mass Torts" report, which analyzed 267 class action and mass tort settlements from 2019 to 2022. The settlements were handled by 22 different administrators but distributed by Digital Disbursements, which is owned by Western Alliance Bank. The report found 170 settlements used some form of digital payments in 2022, compared to only two in 2019. "There's a dramatic increase in the number of cases that offer digital payments," Jeff Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Digital Disbursements, told Law.com's Amanda Bronstad. "Truly, a very quick digitization of settlement payments is occurring as we speak."
ON THE RADAR - Textainer Group Holdings Limited, a lessor of intermodal containers, has agreed to be taken private by Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for $7.4 billion. The transaction, announced Oct. 22, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. Textainer, which is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, was represented by O'Melveny & Myers. Stonepeak was advised by a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett team led by partner Brian Chisling. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.
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