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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
$ IN TEAM – Attorneys might say that they’re team players, but law firms are asking them to show their work for partner compensation reviews. Some Big Law law firms are reshaping their partner compensation reviews by emphasizing collaboration, Andrew Maloney reports. The committees that dictate the distribution of profits are asking attorneys to highlight “not just what I did, but what I did to help others and what others did to help me,” said Lisa Smith, a law firm consultant and principal at Fairfax Associates. Smith said the revised review process is part of an effort to ensure partners are buying into maximizing law firms’ capabilities for clients.
REG RISK – Under Elon Musk’s helm, nearly all of Twitter’s senior legal leadership has either resigned or been fired. With a lean legal crew, some observers wonder whether the company can abide by the terms of a consent decree it entered into with the Federal Trade Commission for misleading users about privacy protections, Maria Dinzeo reports. “I have a lot of experience sitting across the table with regulators, and one of the things that really makes their skin crawl is when their consent orders are not complied with,” said Robert Foehl, a professor of law and business ethics at Ohio University. Twitter might have reason to be on notice, with an FTC spokesperson saying last month that the agency is keeping a close watch on developments at the social media company.
WEED in 2023 – New Year, same cannabis law-related issues. Failures to launch and maintain thriving recreational-use programs and quash illicit markets continued in 2022. This past year, lawsuits targeted cities’ and states’ social equity efforts, and Congress passing a bill to provide cash-dependent marijuana operators access to banks appeared out of reach. Cheryl Miller spoke with three cannabis legal experts about their predictions for 2023, which include more wheel spinning, incremental reforms and limited access to capital.
EDITOR’S PICKS
Avery Wins, But Still Faces Stiff Sanctions Over Discovery Violations By Scott Graham
Paul Hastings, Recruiting From Weil Again, Ramps Up Strategy of Finance Practice By Patrick Smith
Big Law Makes Flurry of Hires in Environmental Practices By Jacob Polacheck
Kramer Levin’s Barry Berke on Being ‘Trial Lawyers and Not Just Litigators’ By Ross Todd
It’s Not All Bad: Legal Tech Companies Report Growth, Hiring Amid Industry Layoffs By Cassandre Coyer
Keeping Up With the Evolution of Globalization and Other Challenges By Lisa Shuchman
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING
HONG KONG IPO BOOST – Hong Kong’s deflated equity capital markets might see an upswing in the next two years in light of regulatory reforms, easing of COVID restrictions and demand from Southeast Asian companies. Several partners at international law firms told Brian Yap that they had been approached by Southeast Asian companies regarding a potential listing in Hong Kong. “We have been approached by several Singaporean companies to look into Hong Kong, so that is one stream of IPO work,” said Virginia Lee, capital markets and M&A partner at Clifford Chance in Hong Kong.
WHAT YOU SAID
“The court’s ruling essentially told female athletes that their lost opportunities, their lost championships, and their records just don’t matter, and that’s a slap in the face to female athletes, not just to my clients, but to female athletes across the country.”
— Christiana Kiefer, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, of an appellate ruling in a case challenging Connecticut’s transgender-inclusive student athletics policies.
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