‘Longer Runway’ Due to Virus Means Anxiety for Big Law Class

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted many Big Law firms to push the fall start date for their first-year associate classes back until 2021. The move, combined with delayed bar exams, has contributed to uncertainty for recent graduates ready to start their firm careers.

Policy Change: Firms have many reasons for starting new associates next year instead of 2020, including a potential slowdown in demand from clients, and the inherent challenges in onboarding new associates remotely as Big Law offices remain closed.

Left Hanging: But the wait can be tough. “What’s incredibly frustrating for people is we just don’t know how to plan and financially plan our lives at least for the remainder of this year and this has been ongoing since March,” said Donna Saadati-Soto, a Harvard Law School 2020 graduate who plans to work in Big Law.

Meghan Tribe has the story.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Jenner & Block’s 400-Lawyer Litigation Group Has Its Next Chair
Reid Schar, a former federal prosecutor known for his work on “Bridgegate” and prosecuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, has been named co-chair of Jenner & Block’s nearly 400 lawyer litigation department.

Employment Law Veteran Bertram Leaves Polsinelli to Start Firm
Washington-based labor and employment lawyer and Big Law veteran Connie Bertram has left Polsinelli to set up shop at her own firm, Bertram LLP, where she plans to handle employment law and government contractor related work.

Ogletree Deakins Eliminates Pandemic-Related Pay Cuts
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart is getting rid of all salary cuts for its lawyers and staff as law firms continue to walk back their pandemic-related austerity measures.

In-House

TikTok Tallies Up Litigators, Policy Pros for Trump Fight
Embattled Chinese social media sensation TikTok Inc. has hired a new litigation chief as the company mulls a potential sale of its U.S. operations and fights the Trump administration in court.

Business of Law

Latham Advises Silver Lake on $500 Million Edtech Funding Round
Latham & Watkins advised Silver Lake on the $500 million funding round it led this week for India’s biggest online education platform, Byju, according to a press representative for the private equity firm.

NFL Player’s Estate Can’t Cut Attorney Fees in Concussion Suit
The estate of deceased NFL player Kevin Turner can’t further reduce the fees owing counsel who represented him in concussion litigation against the league, after the Third Circuit Wednesday affirmed a ruling slashing the contingent fees by one-third.

Ethics

Michigan State Bar Defeats Challenge to Dues, Membership Terms
An attorney challenging the constitutionality of the Michigan State Bar’s structure and mandatory dues requirement must take her claim to a higher court, a Michigan federal court said.

California Supreme Court Urged to Ditch Online Bar Exam
Leaders of the group United for Diploma Privilege have filed an emergency petition to the California Supreme Court, urging justices to waive the state’s bar exam requirement and instead allow law school grads to become licensed without taking the test.

Georgia Disbars Lawyer Colorado Sanctioned for Unreported DUIs
Georgia’s highest court disbarred a lawyer who had been disbarred in Colorado last year for breaking several of that state’s disciplinary rules, including failure to report his DUIs.

Also in the News

Jones Day Lawyer Not Qualified for U.S. Trial Court: ABA
A Jones Day attorney nominated by President Donald Trump to the federal district court covering Jacksonville, Florida, isn’t qualified to serve as a trial court judge due to her limited experience as an attorney, the American Bar Association said.

Follow Bloomberg Law’s global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on our Coronavirus Outbreak channel, and track the latest changes in the federal court operations with our interactive map.

WAKE-UP CALL

Cravath No. 1, Skadden New No. 2 in 2021 Vault Rankings
In today’s column, several major insurance companies recently hired new general counsel as they face a wave of litigation over Covid-19 and other big disasters; King & Spalding hired two veteran international worklaw lawyers away from Seyfarth to boost the firm’s ability to advise clients during the pandemic; a former special assistant to President Trump joined Holland & Knight in Philadelphia; Alston & Bird opened an office in Fort Worth, Texas; the U.K.'s legal profession regulator is bringing in forensic and anti-money laundering investigators for its “complex” probe of a prestigious London law firm.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: AI Legal Work Is Mirroring Cybersecurity Practice Path
In the coming years, attorneys will be called upon to respond to AI incidents, following a similar trajectory as the cybersecurity legal practice. Debevoise attorneys outline seven ways the role of lawyers in AI will come to resemble cybersecurity legal work, including the early years with vague regulatory guidance.

INSIGHT: Credit Scores Fail in Accuracy, Unjustly Impact Minorities
Our current credit system is unreliable during economic volatility and inequitable amid important demands for racial justice, says former BigLaw attorney Jason Gross, now CEO of Petal. It’s time to end our reliance on credit scores and use “cash scores” to more holistically evaluate an applicant’s financial picture, including income, savings, and bill payments, for a more inclusive assessment of creditworthiness.

INSIGHT: Class Action BIPA Rulings Further Successful Preemption Challenges
Defendants in class actions alleging violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are seeing momentum shift in their favor in the courts this year. Blank Rome LLP attorneys say unionized employers should take steps during the collective bargaining process to preserve the ability to assert a preemption challenge in the event the employer’s biometrics practices are tested in court.

WORKFLOWS

Holland & Knight announced that James D. Schultz, who once served as senior associate counsel and special assistant to President Trump, has joined the Public Policy & Regulation Practice group in Philadelphia as a partner, and will lead its Northeast Government Advocacy Team; the firm also added current Texas state representative Travis Clardy as of counsel in Austin, TX from Kelly Hart & Hallman | DLA Piper hired Joseph Spinks as a partner in its Real Estate practice in Brussels from Linklaters | K&L Gates added Richard Hayes as a partner in Sydney from Hogan Lovells | Willkie Farr & Gallagher hired Krystyna M. Blakeslee as a partner in the Real Estate Department in New York from Dechert; she will also serve as Chair of the Real Estate Finance practice group | Sheppard Mullin grabbed Jennifer Nassiri as a partner in the Finance & Bankruptcy practice group in Los Angeles from Quinn Emanuel | FisherBroyles said that Bob Ellerbrock has joined as a partner in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice in Washington from Ogletree Deakins | Baker Botts added Peter Kang as a partner in its Intellectual Property Department in Palo Alto, CA, and as co-chair of the firm’s Korea-based IP practice| Lowenstein Sandler added Brent Weisenberg as senior counsel in its Bankruptcy, Financial Reorganization & Creditors’ Rights department.

Alexa users, now you can add Bloomberg Law’s top stories of the day to your Flash Briefing or tell Alexa to “Play Bloomberg Law news.”

If you haven’t already, be sure to follow Bloomberg Law on Twitter, Flipboard, LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook and Telegram