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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

CONCERNING DEVELOPMENT  –  After decades of deprioritizing associate development and well-being, law firm leaders have been obsessed the past few years with figuring out how to get—and keep—young lawyers engaged. But the pressures of the pandemic are beginning to endanger any recent progress made on that front. In our latest Law.com Trendspotter column, we look at the ways in which remote work, austerity measures and shifting legal demand have led to challenges for young lawyers, whose development was already progressing more slowly than it should have been even before COVID-19 threw the entire legal industry off-course.

HIRE PRIORITIES  – The Black Lives Matter movement has pushed law firms to confront their shortcomings on racial equality. As Patrick Smith reports, some recruiters say they've noticed an uptick in firm interest in hiring Black lateral partners since May, when the murder of George Floyd sparked protests and conversations about racial injustice around the country. While this trend is encouraging, the onus remains on law firms to continue devoting significant resources to diverse hiring and retention. "Until 2020 we were under a veil of systemic racism that no one wanted to acknowledge," said Merle Vaughn, managing director and national law firm diversity practice leader at legal recruiting giant Major, Lindsey & Africa. "But Floyd's and other's deaths have lifted that veil, especially with firm leaders that want to be on the right side of history. Lateral recruitment is a major component of that. It used to be, hire a consultant and they make suggestions on what you should do. But if you want a diverse business or firm, you have to hire people and retain them. Period."

SKYSCRAPERS – If you've ever wondered how booking engines like Kayak and Priceline are able to work in harmony with so many competing airlines to determine which ones have the best prices for consumers, the answer may be…they don't. Discount airline Ryanair has sued Kayak.com, Priceline.com, Agoda.com and parent company Booking Holdings Friday in Delaware District Court for alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The lawsuit, brought by Holland & Knight and Offit Kurman on Friday, accuses the defendants of illegally scraping the Ryanair website in violation of its terms of service, and says the booking sites have taken steps to circumvent Ryanair's efforts to block their activity. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. Read the full complaint and stay up to date on major litigation nationwide with Law.com's Legal Radar.

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