Market May Be Shifting for Law Firms

Demand for law firms services registered its second straight year of growth in 2019—a feat accomplished only twice since the Great Recession. Still, law firm leaders should not overlook “fundamental shifts” occurring in the law firm market, a new year-end report warned.

More Evidence: “In the last year or two, the evidence for that has begun to coalesce in a way we have not seen before. And it is really pointing to a significant shift,” said James Jones, co-author of the “2020 State of The Legal Market” and a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Center for the Study of the Legal Profession.

Strikingly Positive: The annual report listed examples of firms that have made drastic changes, making it in some ways more positive than in years past when it warned law firms were engaged in “consensual neglect.” Roy Strom has the story.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Bryan Cave Doubles Paris Office Size With 22 New Lawyers
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has made its largest addition of lawyers since 2018 with the hire of 22 attorneys, including seven partners, from French firm Franklin.

Kramer Levin Picks Up McGuireWoods Dealmaker
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has added Colin Bumby, formerly of McGuireWoods, as a partner in New York in its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practices.

Big Year, Big Moves: Laterals That Turned Heads in 2019
The year 2019 meant big laterals in Big Law, especially in the appellate and Supreme Court space.

In-House

Apple General Counsel Adams Earned $25.2 Million in 2019
Apple Inc. general counsel Katherine Adams earned more than $25.2 million in total compensation during 2019, down slightly from a year earlier, according to a preliminary proxy statement filed Jan. 3.

Business of Law

Startups Chase $55 Billion Boom Fueled by California Privacy Law
Businesses operating in California are required to be in compliance with a sweeping new privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act, starting this month. They’ll have a few months to figure out the specifics, because the state’s attorney general is still working out the final rules and isn’t expected to start enforcement until July. But the new requirements are already causing widespread anxiety among many businesses that handle consumer data.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHT: Texting While Lawyering— Think Twice Before Sending That GIF
Did your last text with a client include slang, swearing, or a GIF? What would happen to your texts if you lost your phone? Texting is a reality for attorneys, but Ellen McCarthy with Swiss Re Corporate Solutions offers five things they should consider before texting, including how to ensure attorney-client privilege and how to bill for texts.

Ethics

Faraday & Future Sued by Ex-Top Lawyer Poached From Mayer Brown
Faraday & Future Inc. was sued for $106 million by its former general counsel, who claims in Manhattan federal court that the electric car startup lured him away from a Mayer Brown LLP partnership by fraudulently overstating its prospects.

Judiciary

Trump Renominates 11th Circuit Pick as Senate Returns for 2020
President Donald Trump renominated four of his judicial selections Jan. 3, including appeals court nominee Andrew Brasher, after Senate inaction on the nominations before the end of the last session caused them to lapse.

WAKE-UP CALL

Wake Up Call: Weinstein’s Criminal Trial for Rape Starts in New York
In today’s column, several big firms announced their 2020 partner and counsel promotion classes, while Cooley said it has a new leader and it’s celebrating a century of existence this year.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Lessons From WeWork—2020 Will Be the Year Start-Ups Recognize Legal Debt
Experts are predicting 2020’s IPO market will grow, leading to a bigger emphasis on the role of the general counsel in preparing for successful exits. Chris Young, general counsel at Ironclad, draws lessons from the WeWork IPO, examines “legal debt” incurred in preparing for business exits, and offers suggestions for leadership and general counsel on proper strategy for managing it going forward.

INSIGHT: Constraining Pharmacy Benefit Managers Will Not Reduce Drug Prices
Addressing high drug prices is a rare issue that engenders bipartisan cooperation, but pinning pharmacy benefit management companies with the blame is counterproductive, writes Ike Brannon, of the Kemp Foundation, and Tony LoSasso, a DePaul University professor. They say targeting PBMs would lead to a potential increase in insurance premiums and a diminution of innovation in the market, which would be extremely detrimental in the long run.

WORKFLOWS

Lathrop Gage and Gray Plant Mooty have officially merged as Lathrop GPM | Nelson Mullins promoted 29 lawyers to partner (including 14 women) | Eversheds Sutherland promoted six U.S. lawyers to partner, including two women | Fisher Phillips elected 17 attorneys to partnership; 45% are women | Wilson Sonsini promoted 17 new partners, effective Feb. 1 | Boies Schiller Flexner has elected six litigators from its offices in New York, Washington, and Armonk, N.Y., to partnership | Jones Day has promoted 34 lawyers to partnership (including 17 women) | Ice Miller announced six new firm partners | Pepper Hamilton said that eight attorneys have been elected to partnership | Blank Rome announced that 10 associates and two of counsel have been elected partner, and five associates have been elevated to of counsel | Troutman Sanders has promoted 16 attorneys to its partnership | Foley & Mansfield announced the retirement of Virginia Easley Johnson, Managing Partner of the firm’s Miami and Tampa Bay offices; partners Kevin O’Connor and B. Kyle Morley have stepped into the roles of Managing Partner in the Miami and Tampa Bay offices.