Why Some Lawyers Are Flocking to Virtual Firms; Data Analytics Matter to Clients—but How Much?; Social Media Companies Sued, For Reels: The Morning Minute
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August 13, 2020 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
OVER IT WITH OVERHEAD - With the exception of gym memberships, people generally don't like to keep paying for things they don't use. For example, why foot the bill for office space you're never in? As Dan Packel reports, that's a big reason why attorneys seem to be flocking to distributed (a.k.a. virtual) law firms during COVID-19, when remote work is already a way of life for lawyers. Since July 1, FisherBroyles has added seven partners, and counts 35 new names since the start of 2020. Rimon Law has announced five new partners since the beginning of May. And hybrid firm Taylor English Duma, which started hiring remote attorneys in 2018, boasts eight new names since the start of May. The pandemic "accelerated the acceptance of the model that we've been working on for the last 18 years," FisherBroyles co-founder James Fisher said. "When all traditional firms went remote, a funny thing happened. They figured out working remotely isn't as difficult as they though it was."
DOES DATA DRIVE DECISIONS? - More corporate legal departments than ever have come to appreciate the power of data analytics to help them manage their matters and legal spend. Alternative legal service providers, meanwhile, have largely done a better job than their law firm rivals of delivering for clients on that front. But has that made ALSPs the clear choice for legal departments? Not so much, Frank Ready reports. As Brett Burney of Burney Consultants noted, corporate clients typically decide between the services of a law firm or ALSP in the heat of the moment, with data capabilities rarely a top priority. "Typically, I find it's like, 'When can you get this done, how can you get this done and what's going to be the price?'" Burney said.
REEL PROPERTY - A TV channel and a video app are gearing up for a fight over the rights to a name that references a mode of technology neither of them actually uses. Instagram and Facebook were slapped with a trademark lawsuit Tuesday in Minnesota District Court over Instagram's new video service "Reels." The lawsuit was brought by Robins Kaplan and DLA Piper on behalf of Hubbard Media Group, a family-owned broadcasting company, and its ReelzChannel network. Here's hoping there isn't a nascent fishing channel out there eyeing the same name or this could get really messy. Read the full complaint and stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
Meet Eboni Nelson: New Dean of UConn School of Law By Robert Storace
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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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