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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

UNHELPFUL GUIDES - It's an impossible choice, but if I was forced to pick just one Avril Lavigne lyric about outside counsel guidelines that perfectly encapsulates the challenges of the law firm-client relationship, it would have to be: "Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?" OCGs are becoming increasingly prevalent. They're also becoming increasingly varied, complex and (some might say) convoluted, leading many law firms to either waste time trying to reconcile them or to just ignore them altogether. Needless to say, neither of those scenarios is ideal for a healthy law firm-client relationship. In this week's Law.com Trendspotter, we look at why firms are struggling to keep up and comply with clients' guidelines and what both sides can do to improve the situation. Before we dive in, I'm interested to hear from you: Do you feel that clients' OCGs have gotten out of control or are law firms failing to do their part to understand and ensure compliance with them? If you do view OCG compliance as a problem, what can both sides do to help solve it? Let me know at [email protected].

DISSENT INTO MADNESS - A denial of an en banc hearing got a little spicy this past Monday, when Judge James Wynn of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit derided his colleagues' dissents as "advisory opinions that read like editorials" on the three-judge panel decision. As Law.com's Avalon Zoppo reports, Wynn brought attention to a larger debate over whether dissents to en banc rehearing denials are improper and involve judges engaging in advocacy. "From a legitimacy perspective, the concern is that these dissents can read as the court airing out its dirty laundry," said Marin Levy, a law professor at Duke Law School. "And from a substantive perspective, the concern is that there are now advisory opinions—with no force of law—that might muddy the legal waters." Neal Devins, a professor of law at William & Mary Law School, told Zoppo that the concept of penning a dissent to a denial of en banc review "sort of cuts against the whole fabric of what the courts of appeals are supposed to be." "They're not supposed to be judges who make an individual mark," he said. "They're supposed to be judges who work as a collegial collective."

FIGHTING A GRIZZLY - Clark Hill filed a securities lawsuit Tuesday against Fin Capital and Grizzly Research in Arizona District Court on behalf of Alpine 4 Holdings and other plaintiffs. The complaint accuses the defendants of defaming Alpine on Twitter in retaliation for declining Fin Capital's offer to invest. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2:21-cv-01494, Alpine 4 Holdings Incorporated et al v. Finn Management GP LLC et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

LOW TECH - A new survey of Australian in-house lawyers found that they're busier thanks to playing a wider role in their organization and the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, but lack the time, budget and understanding to adopt legal technology tools that could help them, reports Law.com International's Christopher Niesche. The 2021 In-House Counsel Trends report by the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia states that the role of in-house counsel is becoming more complex, as the function continues to shift from a traditional subject matter expert, in the direction of a trusted advisor and influencer to the broader business. But while the report states that technology and innovative delivery can support resource-poor legal teams, uptake of those solutions remains cautious and conservative. "Lack of time to investigate options, lack of budget and satisfaction with existing models and service providers are key factors in the low rate of technology uptake," it says.

WHAT YOU SAID

"I think there is a sort of a fiction in the world that some schools promote that somehow when you get into law school you've walked onto a conveyor belt you get a job and you're set for the rest of your life."