Big Firms Less Bullish on Growing Leverage: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
November 06, 2023 at 06:00 AM
3 minute read
Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.
|
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.
|
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This content has been archived.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
Democratic State AGs Revel in Role as Last Line of Defense Against Trump Agenda
7 minute read
Big Law Communications, Media Attorneys Brace for Changes Under Trump
4 minute read
Will Trump Be a Boost to Quinn Emanuel's Fortunes in China?
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1The Essential Role of Partnership Agreements in Health Care Private Practices
- 2State Law Falls Short on Disability Rights
- 3People in the News—Nov. 26, 2024—Barley Snyder, McNees
- 4Akin, Baker Botts, Vinson & Elkins Are First Texas Big Law Firms to Match Milbank Bonuses
- 5Walking a Minute in Your Adversary’s Shoes: Addressing the Issue of 'Naive Realism' at Mediation
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
