Big Firms Less Bullish on Growing Leverage: The Morning Minute
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November 06, 2023 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
LESS LEVERAGE - The share of Big Law firms planning to grow leverage in the next two years has shrunk. Why? Well, the math is pretty simple: highly paid lawyers + not enough work = something's gotta change. Midyear survey results on leverage projections, provided to Law.com's Justin Henry by researchers at Citi's Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group, found 62% of large firms anticipate an increase in the ratio of equity partners to total lawyers, down from 77% in 2022's mid-year survey. This shift in attitude toward leverage comes principally from more law firms indicating plans to keep leverage growth flat through 2025, said Gretta Rusanow, head of advisory services in Citi's Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE - The White House's new executive order on A.I. development builds on the White House's Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, tasking multiple government agencies with promulgating new rules for AI, with a heavy emphasis on testing and transparency. The impact of the order's recommendations will likely come into focus over the following months, with the implicit promise of new rulemaking and a rise in enforcement under existing regulations, legal professionals told Law.com's Maria Dinzeo reports. "The most important thing is, what happens next? These doors have been opened, everybody has been given direction, but a lot of the important work happens now in getting people to engage about how this is going to work," said Nicholas Xenakis, of counsel at Covington.
ON THE RADAR - Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in a merger of equals transaction. The pro forma enterprise value of the combined company is approximately $8 billion. The transaction, announced Nov. 2, is expected to close in the first half of 2024. Cedar Fair was represented by Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Squire Patton Boggs. Six Flags was advised by a Kirkland & Ellis team led by partners Sarkis Jebejian, Emily Lichtenheld and Allison Wein. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.
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