Facts & Figures: IP attorneys escape shrinking demand for legal services
From social media usage to a predicted rise in class actions, an inside look at the numbers that count
May 10, 2013 at 09:41 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Social Survey
Social media use among in-house counsel is at an all-time high, according to the latest installment of the In-House Counsel New Media Engagement Survey, conducted by InsideCounsel, Greentarget and Zeughauster Group. LinkedIn remains the most popular professional networking site, but Wikipedia use was also on the rise. Keep reading for more survey results:
73% Respondents who use social media tools
67% In-house counsel who used LinkedIn for professional reasons within the past day or week
65% Respondents who reported using Wikipedia for company and industry research
53% In-house counsel who said that the quality of a law firm's blog would influence their hiring decisions
53% Respondents who read general business media on their smartphones, up from 42 percent last year
Climbing Class Actions
Many general counsel have added class actions related to consumer fraud and privacy issues to their list of worries. Nearly half of GCs and CLOs at more than 300 companies predicted an increase in such suits—and a corresponding increase on the money spent defending against them—in a study conducted by Carlton Fields. The expected increase may be attributable to recent news reports about corporate data breaches and food labeling lawsuits.
45% Respondents who predicted that consumer fraud and privacy suits will be the “next wave” of class actions, up from 15 percent one year ago
14% Drop in the amount that companies spent annually per class action in 2012
$3.3 million Amount that companies expect to spend defending class actions this year, up from $3.2 million in 2012
In-Demand IP
The year isn't getting off to a stellar start for most law firm lawyers. A new report from the Peer Monitor Index reveals that in the first quarter of 2013 the overall demand for legal services from law firms fell, along with the demand for most major practice areas. The one exception? Intellectual property specialists found themselves in high demand, likely owing to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent switch from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file patent system.
-3.4% Drop in the demand for overall legal services in the first quarter of 2013
-9% Drop in the demand for labor and employment work during the same period
-3.7% Decline in demand for general litigation attorneys during the same period
5.1% Increase in the need for intellectual property patent work
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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.
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