Obama Civil Rights Lawyers ‘Switch Sides,’ Eye Company Culture

Two lawyers known for combating workplace discrimination who raised some eyebrows by taking roles at management-defense firm Morgan Lewis are now working with companies to navigate bias issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Enacting Change: Former EEOC member Chai Feldblum and her chief of staff Sharon Masling say their new roles as management-side lawyers let them help companies change from the inside. “We both came for a very specific reason, which really was this idea of an affirmative workplace culture,” Feldblum said.

New Side: The leap has turned heads among Democrats and worker advocates. Morgan Lewis recently defended Amazon and ExxonMobil against lawsuits by workers and represented President Donald Trump and his company in tax and other cases. Chris Opfer has the story.

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Correction: The June 5 email misidentified Frank Fried partner Joshua Roth’s practice area. He is in the firm’s White Collar Defense, Regulatory Enforcement & Investigations and Commercial Litigation Practices.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Latham Duo Navigate Corporate Debt Surge At Home, Eye Tech IPOs
Bloomberg Law spoke with Latham & Watkins corporate practice chair, Marc Jaffe, and capital markets practice leader, Ian Schuman, about handling the legal work behind the major surge in corporate debt issued so far in 2020. They weighed in on the IPO market, de-listing Chinese companies, and creative video conference backgrounds.

Black Davis Polk Lawyer Says ‘Institutional’ Bias Spurred Firing
A black former associate accusing Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP of bias and retaliation because of his race says the firm never had a problem with his job performance until he started complaining about its already acknowledged “institutional” discrimination, according to a new filing in New York federal court.

In-House

Top Lawyer to Police Union Keeps Trying to Build Bridges
Larry James, the top lawyer to the Fraternal Order of Police, is always ready for the question. How does he reconcile being an African American while also serving as general counsel of the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers?

Business of Law

Legal Employment Sees Smaller Gain Than Other Sectors
U.S. legal job losses are leveling off, but hiring gains are fractional compared to other sectors starting to rebound after months of historic economic distress due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ex-NFL Player’s Lawyers to Share 22% of Concussion Award
Law firms representing former NFL running back Errict Rhett will divide 22% of his NFL concussion settlement according to their respective efforts in securing his award, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 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

Reed Smith Stops Professional Services Hires for 2020
In today’s column, an appeals court sent a Big Law attorney and another lawyer back to jail over an alleged Molotov attack during New York protests over the police killing of George Floyd; New York City law firms are stuck in lockdown mode while firms in other New York regions are cleared to start reopening; BakerHostetler grabbed Reed Smith’s global labor and employment practice chief in Houston; a cyber-security firm hired a longtime FBI assistant special agent as its new top lawyer; a decline in African-American applicants to law school this fall is significantly bigger than the overall decline.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Congress Has Constitutional Power to Set National Police Conduct Standards
The nationwide protests of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police shows that it is up to Congress to ensure that the promise of “due process of law” and the “equal protection of the laws” without regard to race—so elusive throughout our history—finally materializes in the conduct of local law enforcement. A law professor and an attorney lecturer from the USC Gould School of Law call on Congress to pass legislation creating federal oversight over local police.

INSIGHT: A Neglected Business Opportunity to Save the Planet
Although the U.S. was a leader in developing the Montreal Protocol’s Kigali Amendment, which reduces the use and manufacture of highly destructive hydroflurocarbons, Congress has refused to approve the agreement. Dan Reich, a former DOJ trial attorney and an assistant regional counsel at EPA Region 9 in San Francisco, says the U.S. should sign the agreement, which would not only help reduce global warming but also provide the U.S. economy with business opportunities.

INSIGHT: Prosecutors Stretching the Wire Fraud Statute Might Make It Snap
The full impact of the ‘Bridgegate’ U.S. Supreme Court decision on wire fraud cases remains to be seen, but it enforced important limits to the scope of the federal wire fraud statute. Snell & Wilmer LLP attorneys say those limits should strengthen several potential arguments for defendants facing charges.

INSIGHT: Fighting the Equalizing Effects of Remote Arbitration
Remote arbitration during Covid-19 can put litigators at a disadvantage, if not done well. Nicole Westbrook, a trial instructor and attorney at Jones & Keller, says some sort of remote arbitration will most likely last after the pandemic and offers tips on how litigators can fight its equalizing effects to achieve client goals.

INSIGHT: Proper Drafting Can Stop Arbitration Payment Dodgers
When one party in an arbitration withholds their portion of payment, the proceeding can be unfairly stalled and the purpose of the arbitration—efficient and cost-effective adjudication of claims—is defeated. Megan Dubatowka, with Harris St. Laurent LLP, says commercial parties can remove the possibility of strategic non-payment through proper drafting in arbitration clauses.

INSIGHT: Minimizing Risks in Down-Round Financing During Covid-19
Mintz attorneys offer recommendations for companies contemplating engaging in a down-round financing to deal with the economic impact of Covid-19. They say it’s important to seek legal advice prior to undertaking the process, because the lower valuation and frequently onerous terms of a down-round financing could cause existing stockholders to engage in litigation.

WORKFLOWS

Debevoise & Plimpton announced the opening of an office in Luxembourg | Womble Bond Dickinson hired Eric McCarthy, former General Counsel at Proterra, as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel in Greenville, SC | Cozen O’Connor appointed Katayun Jaffari as Chair of its Corporate Governance & Securities Group in Philadelphia from Ballard Spahr | Venable has elected 12 attorneys to partnership | Squire Patton Boggs added partners Chris Swart and Katie Pritchard in the Commodities and Shipping Group; they join from Holman Fenwick Willan and are accompanied by director John Rollason, senior associate Gabriella Martin, and associates Joseph Magoon and Patrick Greaney | Validity Finance has opened its first international office in Tel Aviv, recruiting Eli Schulman to head its Israel operations | Barnes & Thornburg has added new attorneys and legal professionals to its Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Chicago, Delaware, and Grand Rapids offices.

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