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California Pulse
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4 Law Firm Leaders On Why They're Dead Set Against Merging
As the number of U.S. law firm combination announcements this year ticks up over 90 with the newly announced merger between Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin, these four leaders tell Law360 Pulse they have no interest in entertaining such talks.
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Nixon Peabody Promotes Longtime CFO To COO
Nixon Peabody LLP has named its longtime chief financial officer as its new chief operating officer responsible for all firm operations, including finance, human resources, knowledge management, information technology and administrative services.
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Bradley Arant Aims To Toss Malpractice Arbitration Claims
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and a firm attorney urged a California federal judge to toss a San Diego-based business consulting firm's lawsuit contending the law firm botched an arbitration proceeding with tribal entities, saying the court lacks personal jurisdiction and is an improper venue as the arbitration and legal work largely took place outside the state.
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How Freeman Mathis Maintains Its '1 Office, 1 Firm' Culture
Atlanta-based Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP recently expanded its roster to include more than 400 lawyers across 21 states, but its managing partner said the firm remains committed to a “one office, one firm” philosophy.
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Shifting Market Winds Blew Kramer Levin To HSF Deal
In the span of four years, Kramer Levin co-managing partner Howard Spilko went from "very happy" with the firm's geographical footprint to announcing a combination with a more-than-2,000-lawyer global giant. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at the increasing headwinds for smaller law firms that led to that change in position.
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Law Firms Positioned To Finish 2024 On 'Very Strong' Note
The legal market is positioned to have a very strong year, with firms seeing increases in demand, revenue and attorney productivity during the first three quarters of 2024, according to the results of a survey by Citi Global Wealth at Work.
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What's Next For Court Reform In This New Political Climate?
Advocates are not holding out hope for bills that would firm up a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, impose term limits on justices or give judiciary employees antidiscrimination job protections, saying Republican control of the federal government will likely stall any progress that's been made with court reform efforts.
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Kilpatrick Cybersecurity Leader Joins BakerHostetler In LA
BakerHostetler has welcomed the cochair of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP's cybersecurity, privacy and data governance practice in California, continuing the firm's plan for strategic growth on the West Coast.
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Calif. Bar Latest To Offer Smokeball Billing Software For Free
Legal practice management software provider Smokeball furthered its plan to provide state bar associations with free access to its trust accounting billing software, adding the California Lawyers Association to its growing list of partnerships, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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Jones Day Real Estate Ace Jumps To Greenberg Traurig In LA
Greenberg Traurig LLP is expanding its West Coast real estate team, bringing in a Jones Day real estate transactions pro as a shareholder in its Los Angeles office.
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In-House Counsel Less Wary Of Making BigLaw Jump
While most in-house counsel aren't actively looking to shift to private practice, a survey out Tuesday found there may be an increasing openness to that career lane shift if certain conditions — such as better salaries, work-life balance, and firm culture — are met.
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OpenX Promotes Atty To Chief Privacy Officer, Deputy GC
OpenX Technologies Inc. has looked within for a new privacy leader in what the online advertising exchange company described as a strategic move doubling down on its commitment to privacy-first practices in the ad tech industry.
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Polsinelli Adds Kirkland AI And Tech Ace In San Francisco
Polsinelli PC is expanding its West Coast technology transactions team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Kirkland & Ellis LLP data privacy and artificial intelligence expert as a principal in its San Francisco office.
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Deloitte In-House Atty Joins Foley & Lardner In LA
Jose Sanchez, a former senior trial counsel in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Enforcement Division, has joined Foley & Lardner's Los Angeles office following nearly six years in Deloitte's office of the general counsel.
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Girardi Prosecutor Joins Edelson's Trial Bench In LA
A former federal prosecutor who helped secure Tom Girardi's conviction in August is now moving to Edelson PC, the law firm that shined a spotlight on the disbarred lawyer's theft and fraud, leading to criminal charges and a public downfall.
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Law360 Names Attys Who Moved Up The Firm Ranks In Q3
A promotion to partner or election to practice group chair means a slew of new responsibilities and also lots of well-deserved recognition. Law360 reveals the list of attorneys whose commitment to legal excellence earned them highly coveted spots in the law firm leadership ranks. Find out if your old legal friends — or rivals — moved up in the third quarter of the year.
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Morgan Lewis M&A Pro Jumps To Baker Botts In Palo Alto
Baker Botts LLP has hired an attorney who previously worked at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Winston & Strawn LLP and other firms to bolster its mergers and acquisitions practice on the West Coast.
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BigLaw Bonus Season Starts With A Move By Milbank
Milbank LLP announced Monday that it will hand its associates year-end bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $115,000 depending on seniority, numbers that nearly align with bonuses the firm and its peers handed out last year.
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Herbert Smith Freehills To Merge With US-Based Kramer Levin
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP said Monday that it is joining forces with U.S. law firm Kramer Levin to form a global legal powerhouse in a move that could signal further consolidation in the sector.
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Sullivan & Cromwell Fees Questioned In Kidde-Fenwal Ch. 11
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and the attorney general of California clashed in Delaware bankruptcy court over the firm's interim fee requests for its representation of debtor chemical company Kidde-Fenwal Inc., with the state alleging overbilling and Sullivan & Cromwell claiming California is seeking "payback" for the results of a recent mediation.
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Exec Exodus At Hospitality Platform Sonder Includes CLO
Hospitality platform Sonder announced Friday its chief legal officer will be resigning from her role later this month as one of three executives who have announced their plans to leave the company by the end of 2024.
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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC and Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP lead this week's list of Law360 legal lions for helping a California biotech startup beat a nearly $460 million trade secrets trial before a federal jury in Delaware.
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Cozen O'Connor Vet Leader On Affinity Group, Military Service
Affinity groups have become one way for law firms to make sure diverse groups of lawyers in their organizations feel connected and supported. Cozen O' Connor is among the firms that provide a forum for attorneys with military service to link up with one another along with provide pro bono work to veterans dealing with legal issues such as benefits and disability compensation matters.
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Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz
The legal industry had another action-packed week as BigLaw firms named new leaders and Donald Trump became president-elect. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.
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New Top LA Judge Discusses Being Latino Leader, Advocate
Law360 Pulse caught up with Judge Sergio C. Tapia II, who in January will become presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, to discuss what it means to be a Latino in a position of authority and how he remains “an advocate for justice and neutrality.”
Expert Analysis
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5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent
Laranda Walker at Susman Godfrey, who was raising two small children and working her way to partner when she suddenly lost her husband, shares what fighting to keep her career on track taught her about accepting help, balancing work and family, and discovering new reserves of inner strength.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage?
Diana Leiden at Winston & Strawn discusses how first-year associates whose law firm start dates have been deferred can use the downtime to hone their skills, help their communities, and focus on returning to BigLaw with valuable contacts and out-of-the-box insights.
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Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career
Female attorneys and others who pause their careers for a few years will find that gaps in work history are increasingly acceptable among legal employers, meaning with some networking, retraining and a few other strategies, lawyers can successfully reenter the workforce, says Jill Backer at Ave Maria School of Law.
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Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use
ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence tools pose significant risks to the integrity of legal work, but the key for law firms is not to ban these tools, but to implement them responsibly and with appropriate safeguards, say Natalie Pierce and Stephanie Goutos at Gunderson Dettmer.
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Opinion
We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds
Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down affirmative action in higher education, law firms and their clients must keep up the legal industry’s recent momentum advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession in order to help achieve a just and prosperous society for all, says Angela Winfield at the Law School Admission Council.
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Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity
Law firms that fail to consider their attorneys' online habits away from work are not using their best efforts to protect client information and are simplifying the job of plaintiffs attorneys in the case of a breach, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy and Protection.
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Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers
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Though effective writing is foundational to law, no state requires attorneys to take continuing legal education in this skill — something that must change if today's attorneys are to have the communication abilities they need to fulfill their professional and ethical duties to their clients, colleagues and courts, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona.
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How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up
In the most stressful times for attorneys, when several transactions for different partners and clients peak at the same time and the phone won’t stop buzzing, incremental lifestyle changes can truly make a difference, says Lindsey Hughes at Haynes Boone.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys?
Meredith Beuchaw at Lowenstein Sandler discusses how senior attorneys can assist the newest generation of attorneys by championing their pursuit of a healthy work-life balance and providing the hands-on mentorship opportunities they missed out on during the pandemic.
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Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud
A recent data leak at Proskauer via a cloud data storage platform demonstrates key reasons why law firms must pay attention to data safeguarding, including the increasing frequency of cloud-based data breaches and the consequences of breaking client confidentiality, says Robert Kraczek at One Identity.
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Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects
There are a few communication tips that law students in summer associate programs should consider to put themselves in the best possible position to receive an offer, and firms can also take steps to support those to whom they are unable to make an offer, says Amy Mattock at Georgetown University Law Center.
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How Law Firms Can Cautiously Wield AI To Streamline Tasks
Many attorneys are going to use artificial intelligence tools whether law firms like it or not, so firms should educate them on AI's benefits, limits and practical uses, such as drafting legal documents, to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving legal market, say Thomas Schultz and Eden Bernstein at Kellogg Hansen.
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Keys To Managing The Stresses Of Law School
Dealing with the pressures associated with law school can prove difficult for many future lawyers, but there are steps students can take to manage stress — and schools can help too, say Ryan Zajic and Dr. Janani Krishnaswami at UWorld.
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Can Mandatory CLE Mitigate Implicit Bias's Negative Impacts?
Amid ongoing disagreements on whether states should mandate implicit bias training as part of attorneys' continuing legal education requirements, Stephanie Wilson at Reed Smith looks at how unconscious attitudes or stereotypes adversely affect legal practice, and whether mandatory training programs can help.
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Ditch The Frills And Start Writing Legal Letters In Plain English
To become more effective advocates, lawyers need to rethink the ridiculous, convoluted language they use in correspondence and write letters in a clear, concise and direct manner, says legal writing instructor Stuart Teicher.