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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE COST OF COMPLEXITY - Is a price advantage the only thing that separates an ALSP from your regular, garden variety LSP? That's a question some alternative legal service providers are wrestling with as they seek to take on more complex—and more costly—matters, Frank Ready reports. But getting more sophisticated doesn't necessarily have to mean jacking up rates, nor does charging more have to cause an identity crisis. ALSPs have plenty more to offer, including efficiency, risk mitigation and the ability to scale up. As Quislex CEO Ram Vasudevan puts it: "I think the cost is one aspect. I certainly don't think that's the only aspect. Because if that's the only advantage then there's really no advantage."

NOT SO FAST - McDonald's Quinn Emanuel counsel fought hard, but a Chicago judge ultimately refused to toss out a class action alleging the fast food giant was creating a public nuisance by failing to protect its workers from COVID-19. Amanda Bronstad reports that, despite impassioned arguments by the company's attorney during a Zoom hearing yesterday, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Eve Reilly ultimately denied McDonald's motion to dismiss the suit, which is one of the few cases around the country asking a court to force a business to provide adequate coronavirus protections to its employees. 

FALLING FILINGS – In what is surely reflective of similar downward trends in local courts across the country, Charles Toutant reports that New Jersey state trial courts have seen a whopping 20.5% overall decline in new cases filed between Jan. 1 and April 30, thanks to COVID-19. Criminal filings saw the biggest change, with a 34.1% decline, while family court filings dropped 26.5%, and civil filings fell 16.1% in the first four months of 2020. The decreases also mirror a trend ALM recently tracked across a number of federal courts nationwide.

EDITOR'S PICKS

Harvard Law Will Remain Online-Only for Fall Semester

Child Care Reopening Not Guaranteed to Sway Law Office Plans, Say Heads of NJ Firms

In-House Lawyer, Trial Attorney Call Out Sonic Drive-In General Counsel After Alleged Racial Profiling Incident

At Supreme Court, Sotomayor Is Leading Voice Against Alleged Police Abuses

CEOs Want General Counsel 'More Strategically Involved' in Leadership Roles

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

A FINE PLACE FOR FINANCING – Israel's thriving startup economy is becoming a beacon for litigation funders. According to an ALM staff report, U.S.-based Validity Finance has set up shop in Tel Aviv with the aim of investing in Israeli companies' outbound litigation in U.S. courts and international arbitration. The move comes after the U.K.'s Woodsford Litigation Funding launched in the city last year and New York-based law firm Kobre & Kim teamed up with U.S. litigation finance company Bentham IMF to provide $30 million to fund cross-border lawsuits for Israeli startups in 2018.

WHAT YOU SAID

"I predict that our traditional labor lawyers will be the busiest they've been at any time since World War II."

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