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DC Pulse
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Law Firm Billing Rate Hikes Doubled In 2024
Billing rates for the top 100 law firms in the United States surged by 10% from 2023 to 2024, the largest rate hike in the past three years, according to a new research report on Tuesday.
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Morgan Lewis Taps SEC Enforcement Vet As DC Partner
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced on Monday that it has bolstered its securities enforcement and litigation team by hiring as a new partner the former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission division of enforcement associate director, a 17-year agency veteran who supervised many of the SEC's groundbreaking or noteworthy crypto actions, including one against Kim Kardashian.
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Justices Set To Review Feds' Suit Over 'Ghost Gun' Exception
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday over whether "ghost gun" assembly kits and their accessories, which are unserialized and untraceable, can be considered firearms and therefore subject to licensing requirements under the Gun Control Act of 1968.
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High Court Doubts States Can Police Federal Rights Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to strike down an Alabama law requiring litigants to exhaust state administrative remedies before they file claims in state court accusing local officials of violating federal rights, with several justices suggesting the court already answered that question almost 40 years ago.
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New Bill Would Enact 'Commonsense' Litigation Disclosures
A top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee announced Monday he introduced legislation to require the disclosure of parties receiving payments in civil lawsuits, a phenomenon known as "third-party litigation financing," in order to prevent abuses in the legal system.
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Kirkland Lands Antitrust Pro From FTC
Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced Monday that it has hired a former senior Federal Trade Commission attorney to bolster its antitrust and competition practice group.
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DOJ Fraud Assistant Chief Joins McGovern Weems In DC
An official in the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section has left to join McGovern Weems LLC after a decade with the federal agency, bringing extensive trial experience to the white collar firm.
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Legal Employers Say AI Is Affecting Hiring
A majority of legal industry employers say that artificial intelligence is changing the skill sets they look for in hiring, according to a report released Monday by business consulting firm Robert Half, with the report also finding that employers prefer to train existing employees than hire externally.
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Massachusetts' Chief Federal Judge To Take Senior Status
U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of Massachusetts has notified President Joe Biden he will take senior status on July 31, 2025, the court announced Monday.
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Mayer Brown Partner Returns To Hunton In DC
A partner at Mayer Brown LLP, who started his legal career nearly a decade ago with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, has rejoined the firm as a partner in its Washington office, the firm announced Monday.
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Ex-Mayer Brown Chair Helman Recalled As Steadfast Leader
Former Mayer Brown chair Bob Helman, who stepped up to lead his firm through a fraught juncture in the 1980s during his decades in Chicago's legal community, has died at 90 years old, the firm said Friday.
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In-House Teams Using More GenAI And Fewer Law Firms
Nearly 60% of general counsel and chief legal officers expect a reduced reliance on outside legal service providers due to generative artificial intelligence — more than double since a 2023 survey showed 25% of respondents would cut the number of law firms they work with in the next year to slash costs, according to data released Monday.
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CM Law Grows With Litigation Partners In NY, DC And Texas
CM Law PLLC, formerly known as Culhane Meadows Haughian & Walsh PLLC, has grown with the addition of three litigation partners in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Texas.
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Willkie Tech Patent Litigation Chair Joins Covington In DC
The former chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's tech patent litigation group, who has more than two decades of experience litigating computer hardware and software matters for major corporations, has moved his practice to Covington & Burling LLP's Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Monday.
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Navigating The Path To Equity: Tips For Nonequity Partners
The rapid growth of nonequity partners at major law firms has expanded career options for attorneys, but it also brings distinct challenges as many lawyers in these roles often face extended paths to equity partnership, unclear succession planning, and limited transparency around compensation.
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Corporate Boards Must Address Tech, Commission Says
A blue ribbon commission announced Monday that strengthening oversight, deepening insight and developing foresight are the three main pillars of a new framework for how corporate boards can thrive in the digital age.
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Class Members Who Missed Payout Won't Go Before Justices
The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to a secondary class action settlement distribution of more than $5 million from two class members in an airline price-fixing suit, denying their petition to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that the objectors lacked standing to question the distribution Monday.
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Justices Won't Review Judge's Non-Recusal In Al-Qaida Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to probe whether a D.C. Circuit judge, previously a government attorney, should have recused himself from a former al-Qaida member's appeal of a life sentence for terrorism and war crimes.
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Top 5 Supreme Court Cases To Watch This Fall
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear several cases in its October 2024 term that could further refine the new administrative law landscape, establish constitutional rights to gender-affirming care for transgender minors and affect how the federal government regulates water, air and weapons. Here, Law360 looks at five of the most important cases on the Supreme Court's docket so far.
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Election Litigation Looms Over New Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court justices return to the bench Monday for a new term, even as the dust continues to settle from the shifts in administrative law and foundational changes to presidential immunity that headlined their last sitting. But experts say any hope that this term may be calmer is wishful thinking, in large part due to all-but-certain litigation over the presidential election.
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Oversight Dems Probe Chief Justice On Jan. 6 Case Handling
Two House Democrats on the oversight committee questioned U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts Friday on recent reporting he replaced Justice Samuel Alito as the author of a decision on a Jan. 6 case after the public learned the latter justice's wife flew flags at their homes with ties to the "Stop the Steal" movement.
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High Court Bar's Future: Jenner & Block's Adam Unikowsky
In many ways, Adam G. Unikowsky of Jenner & Block LLP has traveled a tried-and-true path — Harvard, elite clerkships, BigLaw — to the upper echelons of U.S. Supreme Court advocacy. But his route to the forefront of the bar's next generation has been less conventional than it might appear, and he spoke with Law360 about how he's climbed so high — and how he excels by avoiding rhetoric that "judges really, really hate."
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Up First At High Court: Civil Rights, Ghost Guns, Atty Fees
The U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes Monday to start a brand-new term, with the justices first hearing arguments related to prerequisites for litigating federal rights in state courts, ghost gun regulations, and whether a death row inmate is entitled to a new trial after a state admits that prosecutorial misconduct might have led to his conviction.
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Lateral Hiring Softens In Q3 As Partner Moves Slow
After a brief period of stability in the second quarter, lateral recruitment at law firms has softened once more in the third quarter of 2024, particularly in the hiring of partner candidates, according to recent data from legal data company Firm Prospects LLC.
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Lathrop GPM's First Chief Of Legal Operations Talks New Role
Following its merger with Silicon Valley firm Hopkins & Carley, Midwest-based Lathrop GPM LLP named longtime Hopkins & Carley litigator Dori Yob Kilmer as its first chief of legal operations.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Series
Ask A Mentor: How Can I Negotiate My Separation Agreement?
Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey discusses how a law firm associate can navigate being laid off, what to look for in a separation agreement and why to be upfront about it with prospective employers.
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DoNotPay Cases Underscore Hurdles For AI-Fueled Legal Help
Recent legal challenges against DoNotPay’s "robot lawyer” application highlight pressing questions about the degree to which artificial intelligence can be used for legal tasks while remaining on the right side of both consumer protection laws and prohibitions against the unauthorized practice of law, says Kristen Niven at Frankfurt Kurnit.
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For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past
At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
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Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital
Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.