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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

PRACTICES MAKE PERFECT - In the next five years or so, all current Am Law 100 firms will reach the $1 billion or $2 billion mark—or fall out of the top 100 and be replaced by firms growing at a faster clip, according to a recent industry report. Yikes. So what should firm leaders do in 2024 if they don't want to get left behind in that competition for scale? In short, firms should have a clear strategy and don't try to be all things to all people, say the authors of the report, issued by Fairfax Associates. Luckily, as Law.com's Andrew Maloney reports, multiple firms in the Am Law 100 appear to be heeding that advice, beginning the year doubling down on their practice area strengths and high-performing locations, and several firm leaders say in interviews that they will continue this focus throughout 2024.

QUESTION YOUR INTELLIGENCE - Despite all the talk about generative artificial intelligence last year (and, boy howdy, there was a lot of talk), there remain plenty of unsettled questions about the technology. But Law.com's Isha Marathe has managed to narrow those queries down to what are arguably the three biggest to keep an eye on as we head further into 2024: How the heck do you train your AI tool? What the heck is going on with AI and copyright? And, for that matter, what the heck is AI anyway? That last question may sound glib but, as we've noted in this space before, judges across U.S. courts have moved to mandate disclosures of generative AI use, prompting increasing calls from experts for the development of some kind of definition that lawyers can safely rely upon.

ON THE RADAR - William M. Krulak Jr. and Ariana K. DeJan-Lenoir of Miles & Stockbridge have entered appearances for vaccine manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions, its top officers and directors in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit in connection with the drug company's production of COVID-19 vaccines for Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. The suit, filed Dec. 15 in Maryland District Court by Brown Goldstein Levy and the Weiser Law Firm on behalf of Christopher Seaver, contends that certain company insiders sold nearly $42 million of Emergent stock prior to public disclosure of control failures at Emergent's facility. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox, is 1:23-cv-03408, Seaver v. Kramer et al. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.  

EDITOR'S PICKS

While the Phenomenon Is Gone From the Headlines, Quiet Quitting Is Still Happening By Tracy LaLonde

As Cohen Milstein Grows, Law Firm Names New Managing Partner By Abigail Adcox

'Clear Misinterpretation': Dissent Slams 9th Circuit's Rehearing Denial in Gas Ban Case By Avalon Zoppo