Wake Up Call: Manhattan Firms Eye January In-Office Work Surge

In today’s column, the former chief legal officer of defunct firm LeClairRyan is facing close to four years in prison; Cleary said it’s representing dealer managers in GE’s $23 billion bond buyback; a British Parliament member is in hot water amid revelations he’s still earning big money advising at a major law firm.

• Leading off, Manhattan law firms’ in-office attendance averaged 27% on weekdays in October, but firms expect that to jump to 61% by the end of January 2022, according to a new survey. The Partnership for New York City said it surveyed 188 major employers Oct. 19-29, including around 19 law firms. It found 28% of Manhattan office workers overall are in office on average on weekdays, but only 8% are in five days a week. Close to half of the responding employers said the pandemic was the biggest reason for workers’ slow return to offices, while 33% said a preference for remote work was the top reason. (Partnership for New York City)
• Despite a recent surge in Covid-19 infections, most European employers are planning a return to office, a new Littler survey finds. (Littler)
• Big Law firms are always looking to poach rainmakers with big books of portable business, but the pandemic has fueled a shift for them to also look for service or support partners, a report says. (American Lawyer) Referral bonuses are the latest trend as firms compete in a fierce market for talent. (American Lawyer) With workloads swelling and lawyers scarce, some law firms are planning steep rate hikes. But that doesn’t mean corporate legal departments will be willing to pay more. (Corporate Counsel)
• Cross-border law firm travel is likely to increase now U.S. has eased its pandemic travel restrictions, but it might not fully recover to pre-Covid levels for a while. (Reuters)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Cleary Gottlieb said it is representing dealer managers in General Electric Co.’s $23 billion bond buyback aimed at cutting GE’s debt. The tender offer comes a day after GE said it will split into three separate companies, for which it’s getting advice from Paul Weiss and Gibson Dunn. (ClearyGottlieb.com)
• Prosecutors are asking for a 46-month sentence and $250,000 fine against Bruce H. Matson, the disbarred 64-year-old former chief legal officer of defunct law firm LeClairRyan, according to a report. In July, Matson pleaded guilty to obstructing official proceedings related to charges that he misappropriated roughly $4 million from bankruptcy trust funds he oversaw while at the firm. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
• Former U.K. attorney general Sir Geoffrey Cox, now a member of Parliament, set off a government scandal over revelations that he has earned hundreds of thousands of pounds on his side job at law firm Withers in the past year. (Financial Times) (Associated Press) (Financial News)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Fox Rothschild said it’s opening a new office in Kansas City, Mo., with seven of its current lawyers and staff focused on labor and employment and intellectual property; Kobre & Kim said it hired five lawyers for a new office in Dubai, expanding its Middle East/Africa hub; London-headquartered firm CMS poached a team of 10 Greenberg Traurig real estate and construction lawyers, including three partners, to expand its office in Warsaw, Poland. (CMS)
• Winston & Strawn brought in oil & gas-focused finance partner Ryan Hunsaker in Houston. Hunsaker was previously counsel at Vinson & Elkins; Goodwin hired its 10th private investment funds partner of 2021, with Greg Larkin joining in Washington after 13 years at Debevoise & Plimpton, recently as counsel; Moses & Singer picked up Steptoe & Johnson trusts & estates lawyer George McCormick as a partner in New York. McCormick is a former U.S. House legislative counsel, and senior attorney in Florida’s Department of Revenue. (MosesSinger.com)
• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner announced its biggest ever partnership class, with 25 lawyers—including 13 women—promoted to partner, across its offices and practice areas worldwide; Perkins Coie promoted 28 counsel and senior counsel to partner; Locke Lord promoted 12 lawyers to partner across eight offices; Stoel Rives promoted nine attorneys (six women) to its partnership. (Stoel.com)

Technology

• Business marketing and technology company Scorpion acquired law firm digital marketing company MediaSmack. (PR Newswire)