Why More Law Firms Don't Invest in Legal Tech Startups | Greenberg Traurig Disputes Giuliani | MGM-Backed Mobile Game Publisher Is Going Public: The Morning Minute
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February 03, 2021 at 06:00 AM
5 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
VESTED DISINTEREST - The expression "scared money don't make money" may be most popular among folks who have blown their life savings on sports betting apps, but there is some truth to it: investing involves risk and for lawyers, "risk" is a four-letter word. Some law firms have begun investing in legal tech startups to both bolster and share in their success. But, as Law.com's Victoria Hudgins reports, many firms still don't see legal tech investment as a viable option thanks to a lingering industry-held belief that ownership in tech startups is too much of a gamble. Baretz+Brunelle new law practice partner and co-head Brad Blickstein told Hudgins that investing in legal tech "doesn't fit terribly well culturally and feels risky to lawyers and they usually don't like that. The business structure is an impediment because they have to play with their own money." What do you think? Drop me a line at [email protected].
FIRM DENIAL - Rudy Giuliani, who some of you may be familiar with, claimed in a press interview late last month that his associate consulted with a Greenberg Traurig shareholder about a massive legal fee for representing former President Donald Trump. Now, Law.com's Dan Roe reports, the Am Law 100 firm has responded with a full-throated, "Nuh-uh." Specifically, according to a New York Times report, Giuliani said that his associate, Maria Ryan, had consulted with Greenberg Traurig shareholder Larry Levy about how much Giuliani should ask for from the Trump campaign. In a statement to the American Lawyer, however, Greenberg Traurig denied Giuliani's account, saying quote, "No lawyers or professionals at our firm are in any way consulting with Mr. Giuliani about his legal fees. The firm and Mr. Giuliani parted ways in May 2018, he is neither a client nor an employee, nor affiliated in any way with the firm." OK then!
WELL, ISN'T THAT SPECIAL - SPACS really are the new black. Playstudios Inc., a mobile game publisher backed by MGM Resorts, is going public via SPAC merger in a deal guided by Davis Polk & Wardwell and Latham & Watkins. The combined company, which will be traded on the Nasdaq, has an estimated enterprise value of $1.1 billion. Acies Acquisition Corp., which is chaired by the former CEO of MGM, is advised by a Latham team led by partner Steven Stokdyk. PlayStudios, which is based in Las Vegas, was represented by a Davis Polk team including partners Alan Denenberg and Lee Hochbaum. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
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EDITOR'S PICKS
NYU Law Prof to Become ACLU's First Black President By Karen Sloan What's the Anthony Fauci Effect? And Why Should Lawyers Pay Attention to It? By Robert Storace 7 Kasowitz Partners Spin Off to New Boutique, Subleasing 2 Boies Schiller Offices By Patrick Smith and Dylan Jackson Trump Attorneys, Unveiling Impeachment Defense, Argue His Election Attacks Were Protected Speech By Jacqueline Thomsen Law.com Trendspotter: The Pandemic Has Made Lateral Hiring Easier to Do, but Harder to Do Well By Zack Needles|
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
SHEAR STRESS - Yesterday we told you that eight Shearman & Sterling arbitration partners, including global arbitration heads Emmanuel Gaillard and Yas Banifatemi, are leaving the firm to start their own boutique. Turns out you can tack on 30 Shearman associates to that deal, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, who told Law.com International's Meganne Tillay that the financial hit to the firm will be "very substantial." They said the team typically accounted for between "$30 million and $40 million" of fee income per year. The firm's overall revenues are close to $1 billion. Shearman, for its part, said it plans to continue working with the spinoff firm, Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes.
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WHAT YOU SAID
"This was not a peaceful protest. Hundreds of people came to Washington, D.C., to disrupt the transition of power and to thwart Congress—a branch of the federal government—in carrying out its duty in fulfilling its constitutional task of officially certifying the votes of the Electoral College."
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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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