Large Group Laterals Are in Vogue: The Morning Minute
The news and analysis you need to start your day.
June 14, 2022 at 06:00 AM
5 minute read
Want to get this daily news briefing by email? Here's the sign-up.
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE - When it comes to lateral hiring, there's safety in numbers. Big Law is continuing to place a premium on teams in the lateral market, peeling off large groups or doing mergers/acquisitions of boutique firms, Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports. It's not a brand new trend, but competitive pressure on groups and smaller firms has built during the pandemic, and top firms are continuing to press their advantage, resulting in more people taking more cracks at scaling up. Plus, while superstars remain in high demand, an environment that's given lawyers across the spectrum more leverage has led to increased recognition of the value of acquiring role players along with primary talent. Michael McKenney, a senior client adviser and business development officer at Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group, said the mobility data his group tracks has indeed gotten "lumpier" over the last handful of years. "The lateral activity we are seeing now is much more strategically-targeted groups and practices," he said. "And when the nature of the lateral activity is to lift out a group or practice, they're far more likely to integrate successfully in the destination firm, but also far more likely to port over clients and matters as well, and far more likely to effectively neutralize the ability of the firm of origin to perform that work. Because the entire team is gone."
TEXTUAL TENSION - What happens when it turns out that the "plain meaning" of a text isn't all that plain after all? Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett are self-described originalists and textualists, but their reading of texts in three recent decisions drove them to opposite conclusions. Two statutory interpretation rulings and one constitutional decision provide a snapshot of Barrett versus Gorsuch. Barrett led the majority in all three, while Gorsuch led the dissent, aligning with liberal justices in two, and soloing in a third. Law.com's SCOTUS expert Marcia Coyle breaks down all three cases and explains how two textualists can arrive at dueling interpretations.
WHO GOT THE WORK?℠ - Lynne Anne Anderson, William R. Horwitz and Brian M. Hayes of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath have stepped in as defense counsel to BioReference Laboratories in a pending employment class action. The case, filed April 21 in New Jersey District Court by Law Office of Christopher Q. Davis, brings wage-and-hour claims on behalf of individuals employed by the defendant to perform COVID-19 tests on Royal Caribbean cruise ships. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi, is 2:22-cv-02321, Rosenberg et al v. BioReference Laboratories, Inc. >> Read the filing on Law.com Radar and check out the most recent edition of Law.com's Who Got the Work?℠ column to find out which law firms and lawyers are being brought in to handle key cases and close major deals for their clients.
ON THE RADAR - BMW of North America and Tracy L. Chaney were slapped with a wrongful death lawsuit Monday in Colorado District Court. The court case, filed by Forester Haynie PLLC on behalf of the Estate of Gregory Dyer, arises from an incident involving BMW's RawHyde Offroad Adventures, which trains individuals in riding off-road motorcycles. The complaint asserts that Dyer passed away after being involved in a fatal collision allegedly caused by the defendant's negligence in training. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 1:22-cv-01483, Dyer v. Chaney et al. Stay up on the latest deals and litigation with the new Law.com Radar.
EDITOR'S PICKS
Wilmer Nabs Former SDNY USA Preet Bharara By Bruce Love |
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All

Processes, Challenges and Solutions In Lateral Partner Integration

'A Shock to the System’: Some Government Attorneys Are Forced Out, While Others Weigh Job Options
7 minute read
Chinese Firms Hire Partners from Kirkland and Paul Hastings in Hong Kong
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Office of Special Counsel Chief Challenges Firing 'Without Cause'
- 2'Supervisor Is a Bully:' State High Court Weighs Liability for Campaign Against Appellate Staff Attorney
- 3The M&A Partners Who Drove the Most Business as Deal Leads in 2024
- 4Judge Finds Trump Administration Violated Order Blocking Funding Freeze
- 5CFPB Labor Union Files Twin Lawsuits Seeking to Prevent Agency's Closure
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250