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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

WELCOME TO THE WEB - When the pandemic drove everyone out of their offices and into their homes, law firms were forced to alter how they marketed to both existing and new clients, meaning they had to quickly get comfortable using a radical new tool called "the internet." OK, that might not seem like a big deal, but, as Law.com's Patrick Smith reports, digital marketing has long been considered something of a fringe effort for law firms, who traditionally preferred client dinners and retreats to virtual conferences and Zoom happy hours. Over the past year, however, firms have learned to embrace video meetings, as well as other digital marketing methods like podcasting and social media. Now, they'll need to decide which digital marketing methods worked best and were most worth the investment because, as with so many other things, even as the world returns to something resembling pre-COVID normalcy, there will be no going back completely. "It has leveled the playing field," Precious Williams Owodunni, founder and CEO of legal consulting firm Mountaintop Consulting, told Smith. "The successful boutique firms can have the same digital marketing footprint as a large Am Law 100 firm."

GIVE IT A (TRADE) NAME - While we're on the topic of law firms attempting to distinguish themselves in an ultracompetitive marketplace, let's talk law firm monikers: surnames are so 2020. With the vast majority of U.S. states now permitting law firms to use trade names, leaders at younger and midsize boutique firms say going with something punchier—instead of just a list of each equity partner's last name—helps to distinguish firms in a crowded practice area while promoting a more egalitarian work culture, Law.com's Justin Henry recently reported in ALM's Mid-Market report. Jennifer Cona, managing partner of Long Island, New York-based Cona Elder Law, which was renamed from Genser Dubow Genser & Cona in January, told Henry that, to her, the convention of naming a legal practice after its equity partners is nothing more than an "ego-feeding machine" for those partners. "A string of partner names to the public is really pretty meaningless—it's not what's important," she said. For a free trial subscription to the Mid-Market Report, click here.

SERIOUS CHARGES -  Intuit Inc. and its payment solutions unit sued Mastercard and Visa on Friday in California Northern District Court over alleged antitrust violations. The case, filed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, contends that Visa and Mastercard have acted to artificially inflate the prices that merchants pay for credit and debit transactions and to suppress the adoption of anti-fraud technology. The case is 5:21-cv-01234, Intuit Inc. et al v. Visa Inc. et al.. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.