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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.