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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

SIMILARLY SITUATED – As the topic of mental health takes a front seat in law firms, bar associations and conferences, many law firm staffers—whether in legal operations, pricing or marketing—feel left out of the conversation. As part of our Minds Over Matters project, Dylan Jackson reports that improving mental health in the legal profession is largely focused on attorneys, and there are few, if any, studies that examine the rates of depression, anxiety and addiction among law firm professional staff. At the same time, recent suicides of professional staff highlight the degree to which they face many of the same pressures as their lawyer colleagues.

BRICKS AND CLOUDS – Two years ago, Atlanta-based Taylor Engish Duma hired its first remote partner as part of its plan to become a hybrid law firm—combining brick-and-mortar lawyers with a network of equity partners working away from home base. Now as Patrick Smith reports, the firm has 20 remote partners across nine cities in eight states. Its compensation structure is modeled after other virtual firms: partners keep 80% of what they originate, split what they refer to another partner, and work as much or as little as they want.

RADIO MAN – A Pryor Cashman partner can’t dodge a lawsuit claiming that he tricked prolific radio producer Himan Brown, who died in 2010, into signing most of his $100 million over to the Himan Brown Charitable Trust, of which Kay is the sole trustee. Jack Newsham reports that the lawsuit filed against attorney Richard Kay in New York by Radio Drama Network, a private foundation set up by Brown in 1984 to promote radio dramas and educational initiatives, says Kay has used the charitable trust to fund his own causes rather than its stated purpose—to support radio drama or the spoken word. Brown produced some 30,000 radio shows in his lifetime, according to the Radio Hall of Fame.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Quinn Emanuel Lawyers Seek Belgian Citizenship Amid No-Deal Brexit Fears

Third Circuit Revives Beard-Related Discrimination Claims Against UPenn

Atlanta BeltLine Taps Smith Gambrell Real Estate Partner as New General Counsel

Texas and Louisiana Tout Pro-Trump Emoluments Ruling to Defend Abortion Restrictions

By the Numbers: Lawyer Salary Increases in the Past Two Decades

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

NEW POST - Baker McKenzie partner Ana García Rodríguez has become general counsel and global corporate secretary at Kutxabank, a financial institution based in the Basque Autonomous region of Spain. Simon Taylor reports that García Rodríguez joins from the Madrid office of Baker McKenzie, where she was a partner and head of the financial services and regulatory and insurance department for four years.

WHAT YOU SAID

“When you’re part of a much larger group, as a young associate you often don’t know what’s coming down the pipeline and you can’t really manage your schedule in any way.”