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California Pulse
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AI-Focused Exec Roles Are Having A Moment At Law Firms
Several law firms this year, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and McDermott Will & Emery LLP, have filled artificial intelligence-focused chief and director roles to keep up with technological advances and client demands, according to legal recruiters.
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Ex-Girardi Keese CFO Inks Plea Deal Over Firm Embezzlement
Girardi Keese's former Chief Financial Officer Christopher K. Kamon reached a plea agreement Tuesday with Los Angeles federal prosecutors, who allege he spearheaded a "side fraud" that bilked millions of dollars from the embattled law firm's accounts behind disbarred attorney Tom Girardi's back.
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Ex-Uber Exec's Actions Smell Like Cover-Up, 9th Circ. Judge Says
A Ninth Circuit panel appeared skeptical Tuesday of Uber's ex-security chief's effort to overturn his convictions for obstructing an investigation into an Uber data breach, with one judge saying the defendant's abrupt changes to Uber's policies "does smell to me like a cover-up."
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Western Digital's Ex-Legal Chief Saw Comp Dip In Final Year
The former chief legal officer at Western Digital Corp. saw a slight fall in his overall compensation package for fiscal year 2024 compared to the previous two, according to a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
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Judge Security Data Reflects Policy Shifts As Much As Threats
Former employees of the U.S. Marshals Service say that while judicial security has never been more urgent, finding trends is nearly impossible: The way threats against federal judges are tracked has varied so much from year to year, the data is essentially meaningless.
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Polsinelli Taps Chief Of Staff As First Practice Strategy Leader
Polsinelli PC announced Monday that it promoted its chief of staff to serve as both its staff lead and as its first chief practice strategy officer, tasking her with managing how its practices work together to benefit clients and promoting innovation through strategies such as the use of artificial intelligence.
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Manatt RE Leader Found Common Ground Without An Ego
Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP has lost a Silicon Valley real estate partner with the death of Michael Polentz, and former colleagues are praising his ability to seamlessly break down complex ideas and his achievement of great success in the legal world — and doing so without an ego.
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9th Circ. Affirms Atty Fee Reduction In Cathode Suit
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel on Monday upheld a lower court's decision to cut more than $2 million from plaintiff's firm Cooper & Kirkham's $3.45 million fee award in a multidistrict litigation settlement over alleged cathode ray tube price-fixing litigation.
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White & Case Adds Marketing, Innovation Execs Amid Growth
White & Case LLP announced Monday the appointment of both a chief innovation officer and a chief marketing officer as the firm continues to expand through hiring and office openings.
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More Law Firms Want To Merge, But Deals Aren't Skyrocketing
Law firm management consultants say they continue to see historic interest among law firms to engage in merger talks, driven further by a spate of big deals announced during the third quarter of the year, but the number of actual combinations inked has remained fairly steady, Law360 Pulse data shows.
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Legal Tech Co. EvenUp Valued At $1B After $135M Series D
The legal technology sector has a new unicorn after artificial intelligence provider EvenUp secured a $135 million Series D funding round and reached a $1 billion valuation on Tuesday.
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Littler Adds Excelitas Exec As Chief Digital Innovation Officer
Labor and employment firm Littler Mendelson PC has added the former executive vice president and chief information officer at photonics and light technology company Excelitas Technologies as its chief digital innovation officer.
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Law Firm Billing Rate Hikes Doubled In 2024
Billing rates for the top 100 law firms in the United States surged by 10% from 2023 to 2024, the largest rate hike in the past three years, according to a new research report on Tuesday.
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Attys Want $20M Fees For Netting $64M Tuna Price-Fixing Deal
Attorneys representing a class of purchasers who sued several canned tuna producers have asked a California federal judge for nearly $20 million in fees and costs associated with their recently inked $64 million settlement, saying the award is fair considering the effort the case took to prosecute and the complexity of the deal.
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Brothers' $10B Real Estate Battle Nets Another $11.6M In Fees
A California judge granted over $11 million in attorney fees Monday to a man who prevailed in a 20-year legal battle with his brother over a real estate empire when a jury awarded him and his other brothers a $10 billion verdict, granting the bulk of the request.
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9th Circ. Nixes Judicial Complaint Over Atty 'Disbar' Threat
The Ninth Circuit has rejected a judicial misconduct complaint against a judge who allegedly suggested that he could "disbar" a lawyer.
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Legal Employers Say AI Is Affecting Hiring
A majority of legal industry employers say that artificial intelligence is changing the skill sets they look for in hiring, according to a report released Monday by business consulting firm Robert Half, with the report also finding that employers prefer to train existing employees than hire externally.
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In-House Teams Using More GenAI And Fewer Law Firms
Nearly 60% of general counsel and chief legal officers expect a reduced reliance on outside legal service providers due to generative artificial intelligence — more than double since a 2023 survey showed 25% of respondents would cut the number of law firms they work with in the next year to slash costs, according to data released Monday.
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Steam Gamer Wants Sheppard Mullin Atty Back As Arbitrator
A Los Angeles man who joined an antitrust action against Valve Corp., the company behind online video-game store Steam, has brought a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to reinstate a Sheppard Mullin lawyer as arbitrator for dozens of California litigants, arguing his disqualification came too late and was otherwise unfounded.
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Navigating The Path To Equity: Tips For Nonequity Partners
The rapid growth of nonequity partners at major law firms has expanded career options for attorneys, but it also brings distinct challenges as many lawyers in these roles often face extended paths to equity partnership, unclear succession planning, and limited transparency around compensation.
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Lateral Hiring Softens In Q3 As Partner Moves Slow
After a brief period of stability in the second quarter, lateral recruitment at law firms has softened once more in the third quarter of 2024, particularly in the hiring of partner candidates, according to recent data from legal data company Firm Prospects LLC.
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Lathrop GPM's First Chief Of Legal Operations Talks New Role
Following its merger with Silicon Valley firm Hopkins & Carley, Midwest-based Lathrop GPM LLP named longtime Hopkins & Carley litigator Dori Yob Kilmer as its first chief of legal operations.
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Outgoing NCSC Prez Talks Transparency, Checks & Balances
Mary McQueen, who is retiring after more than 20 years as president of the National Center for State Courts, joined Law360 Pulse for a conversation about transparency and safety in the courts and her legacy at the organization.
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OpenAI Brings On MoFo IP Litigator To Lead AI Research
A former intellectual property litigation partner from Morrison Foerster LLP is now OpenAI's lead counsel for artificial intelligence research, the company said Friday.
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White House Alum To Co-Lead Regulation At Lewis Brisbois
Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has tapped an attorney with deep experience across multiple government positions, including serving in the White House Office of Management and Budget, to co-chair its administrative law and regulatory practice.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds
Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.
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Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity
Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.
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Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers
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Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.
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How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up
In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys?
Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.
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Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud
A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.
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Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects
There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.
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How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks
Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.
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Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School
Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.
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Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts?
Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.
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Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English
To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement?
Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.
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DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help
Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past
At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
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Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital
Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.