Kirkland Partner Strives for Balance While Working Remotely

In the latest edition of our Leading Questions feature, Kirkland investment funds partner Nicole Washington explains how her life and work have changed since Covid-19 forced Big Law to go remote.

Ready for Anything: Washington said her days are full of “many espressos” and dealing with “unprecedented issues” that her clients are facing in the crisis. She also recommends setting up a schedule while working from home to avoid burnout and to ensure that meals happen.

Time Management: “That sounds silly, but at the beginning I had days where I would wake up and work for hours before having breakfast or not take a break for dinner until very late because I hadn’t scheduled for it,” she said. “Also, reserve time to connect with your family and friends.”

Mary Ellen Egan has the story.

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DAILY BRIEF

Supreme Court

Follow from Home the Supreme Court’s First Livestream Arguments
For the first time in history, people outside the U.S. Supreme Court’s walls will be able to hear arguments as they happen. It may not be baseball, but plenty of court watchers and casual fans alike are excited for the action. Here’s all the information you’ll need to follow along.

Law Firms

Squire Patton Boggs Offers Summer Associates Jobs, Nixes Program
Squire Patton Boggs has canceled its summer associate program and extended job offers to law students who had been slated to participate as fallout from the coronavirus pandemic forces law firms to rethink their summer offerings.

In-House

Deutsche Bank Searching for New Global Law Department Leader
Deutsche Bank AG’s group general counsel Florian Drinhausen is stepping down next month after more than two years in the role.

Cannabis Firm Curaleaf Taps Ex-FINRA Official to Lead Compliance
Curaleaf Holdings Inc., one of the most valuable U.S. cannabis companies, has hired a new chief compliance officer following the departure of two former top in-house lawyers.

Ex-Amazon Lawyer Among Bed Beth & Beyond Executive Hires
Beth Bath & Beyond Inc. is bringing on a new top lawyer with experience in e-commerce, more than four months after parting ways with its longtime general counsel.

Business of Law

Intapp Cuts 5% Of Workforce Due to Coronavirus Crisis
Intapp, a tech provider that works closely with law firms, has laid off 5% of its workforce partly in response to a market downturn spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has confirmed.

Legal Tech

Cisco’s ‘Unprecedented’ Patent Trial to Test Video Capabilities
The limits of virtual trials during the Covid-19 pandemic are about to be tested in Cisco Systems Inc.'s complex patent dispute with a Washington-area startup.

ABA, Paladin Launch Pro Bono Portal for Those Affected by Virus
The American Bar Association’s Disaster Legal Services Program and justice tech company Paladin launched an online portal Thursday enabling lawyers to find pro bono opportunities to help people affected by the coronavirus pandemic and other natural disasters.

Ethics

Lawyer Likely Can’t Defend Clients On Related Criminal Charges
A New York lawyer representing two clients in separate but related criminal matters faces a “likely unwaivable” conflict of interest based on the facts presented, a recent state bar association opinion said.

California Superior Court Attorneys Exempt From CLE, Court Rules
Attorneys employed by California superior courts are exempt from the State Bar’s mandatory continuing legal education requirements, a state appeals court said, affirming judgment for a Northern California attorney.

WAKE-UP CALL

Boies Schiller Axes Staff, Associates in NY, California
In today’s column, a controversial $1.1 billion, Big Law-brokered sale of the .Org web domain to a private equity firm ran into a wall yesterday, blocked by the company that runs the internet; New York law firms’ growth was already slowing before Covid-19 arrived; DLA Piper promoted 67 lawyers to partner, including 33 in the U.S.; Cole Schotz won a second Chapter 11 pause for Modell’s Sporting Goods; a Louisiana law firm sent 777 pizzas to health care workers.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

• Eastern District of Oklahoma said it plans to hold its first grand jury trial since the start of the pandemic on June 6, following guidance from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts for reopening the judiciary. The court said those trials would be subject to precautionary screening and social distancing.

Follow the latest changes in court operations using our interactive map.

Follow Bloomberg Law reporters on Twitter as they track updates from courts across the country with the hashtag #COVID19Courts.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Don’t Expect High Court’s Romag Ruling to Upend Trademark Litigation
Patterson Belknap partner Jonah Knobler examines the Supreme Court’s ruling in Romag Fasteners and its impact on future trademark infringement cases. He explains the decision won’t dramatically alter the trademark landscape, but it will provide counterfeiting victims an easier path to pursue disgorgement.

INSIGHT: Temporary Suspension of Bankruptcy Cases During Pandemic
Several Chapter 11 debtors have recently had their bankruptcy proceedings temporarily paused because of the coronavirus pandemic. Jones Day attorneys say halting a bankruptcy case temporarily may be a useful tool for debtors and creditors to take stock of the situation and develop or negotiate a revised strategy to move the case forward.

INSIGHT: Covid-19 Push More Companies to Use AI as Hiring Tool
The trend of using artificial intelligence in hiring and recruitment decisions is expected to increase, especially in light of Covid-19 social distancing mandates. Epstein Becker & Green attorneys examine its growing use and legislative efforts in several states to protect against privacy and discrimination concerns.

INSIGHT: The Scope of a Sextillion—How Courts Misapply Law of Enablement to Life Sciences
A Federal Circuit ruling in 2019 is the latest in the trend toward courts heightening the enablement requirement for life science patents, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox attorneys write. They say the trend could ultimately have catastrophic effects on innovation in the pharmaceutical and small molecule therapeutic industries.

INSIGHT: Covid-19’s Impact Through the Lens of Sanctions and Export Controls
The first quarter of 2020 included significant economic sanctions and export controls developments related to the global Covid-19 pandemic. Kirkland & Ellis attorneys discuss these actions and what they may indicate for the remainder of the year.

INSIGHT: Rebuild ‘Sharing Economy’ Post-Virus to Prepare for Climate Change
Many parts of the U.S. economy are on hold, and Josh Whitney, of Anthesis Group, says as we rebuild it after the coronavirus pandemic, we must focus on making it better in order to prepare for the next crisis of climate change.

WORKFLOWS

Goodwin added partner Oliver Glynn-Jones to the Litigation practice in London (from Bryan Cave Leighton) effective May 1 | McKool Smith’s Austin office managing principal Kevin Burgess has left the firm and moved to Dallas trial boutique Caldwell Cassady & Curry | Perkins Coie named patent litigator Jose Villarreal office managing partner of its new office in Austin (a few months ago) from Wilson Sonsini | Andrew Weissmann, one of Robert Mueller’s top Russia probe litigators, will rejoin Jenner & Block in July | Dinsmore & Shohl recently hired Scott Mandir as an associate to its Intellectual Property group in Washington | Bradley announced that Jessica Sparhawk has joined as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group in Montgomery, AL | Latham & Watkins hired Kate Withers as a partner in the Corporate Department and as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and Private Equity Practice in New York from Kirkland & Ellis.

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