PROCEEDING WITH REMOTE PROCEEDINGS - Three years after the start of the pandemic forced the federal judiciary to go virtual, what types of proceedings should continue to be held remotely as courts more fully reopen? As Law.com’s Avalon Zoppo reports, the First Circuit—which covers federal courts in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico—has formed a committee to examine the question and craft resources for judges to turn to when weighing whether to hold a hearing virtually. One order of business, said U.S. District Judge Samantha Elliott, who sits in New Hampshire, was surveying district, magistrate and bankruptcy judges in the circuit to gauge their thoughts, as well as practitioners. Among several interesting results, Elliott said, the survey found judges were more cautious of virtual proceedings for evidentiary hearings than practitioners.
LOWER HIRES - Associate lateral moves have dropped by two-thirds in 2023’s first quarter compared to the same time last year—1,551 versus 4,547, data gathered by Decipher Investigative Intelligence shows. While partner moves have trended downward from last year by 15%, 1,402 from 1,653, the first quarter of this year was still the second busiest first-quarter for partner moves from 2017 to 2023, whereas associate moves had their quietest first quarter in the same interval, according to the Decipher data. The divergence in lateral activity between lawyer tiers suggests a hiring strategy focused on rainmaking partners at a time of financial constraint, industry analysts told Law.com’s Justin Henry.
