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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

FEELING THE BURN - "Money can't buy happiness." It's the cliché of all clichés. And yet, law firms still don't seem to have gotten the message. As Law.com's Christine Simmons writes in this week's Law.com Barometer newsletter, high deal activity, including the craze over SPACs, has created a surge in demand for dealmakers and advisers, a year into the pandemic. The result: non-stop working hours, made worse by working from home. Firms' response in many cases? Throwing cash at the problem, in the form of bonuses. But, Simmons notes, the monetary rewards are a short-term fix: "If firms are intent on having a diverse attorney workforce, finding other rewards as well as having reasonable schedules and demands on associates—before too much talent flees to smaller firms or in-house legal departments—is key." To receive the Law.com Barometer directly to your inbox each week, click here.

LIT UP - The legal industry as a whole may have been pleasantly surprised by how 2020 turned out, but a number of firms with large litigation practices felt the revenue pinch more than others, thanks to an initial drop in new filings and the slowdown in court operations. But while courts continue to struggle to get fully back up and running, leaders of litigation-heavy firms, as well as industry observers, are remarkably optimistic about their prospects for the rest of this year, Law.com's Ross Todd writes for Litigation Daily. Paul Pearlman, who stepped down as the managing partner of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel at the end of 2019 and is now a partner with the Zeughauser Group, told Todd in an email: "I have heard that things definitely picked up in litigation during the second half of 2020 and that increase in demand has continued into this year. I believe that the change in administrations will result in increased regulatory and criminal investigations which will benefit firms with significant white collar and enforcement practices and ultimately lead to some civil litigation as well." Law.com subscribers can sign up for The AmLaw Litigation Daily newsletter here. Anyone else can click here to subscribe.  

MERGE LANE - Used car retailer CarMax has agreed to acquire Edmunds in a cash-and-stock deal guided by Skadden and Sullivan & Cromwell. The combination, expected to close in June 2021, follows CarMax's 2020 investment in the well-known provider of automotive reviews and pricing information. Richmond, Virginia-based CarMax is advised by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partners Katherine Ashley, Jessica Hough and Ken Kumayama. Edmunds is represented by a Sullivan & Cromwell team led by corporate partner Eric M. Krautheimer. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.

EDITOR'S PICKS

'This Is Where Our Compass Points Us': Reed Smith Partners Outline Plan to Make a Difference in Racial Equity By Katheryn Tucker

This Public Defender Just Got $275,000 in Law School Loans Forgiven. Here's How. By Karen Sloan

Here's How a Houston Firm Returned to the Office Nearly a Year Ago By Brenda Sapino Jeffreys

Alito Uses Grammar Lesson to Warn About Interpreting Statutes By Marcia Coyle