Connecticut Pulse

  • Study Sees Promise For Gen AI Tools In Closing Justice Gap

    Widespread access to generative artificial intelligence tools could help increase access to justice for low-income Americans, according to a new study that found these tools largely boosted productivity for legal aid lawyers.

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    ABA Gives Advice To Avoid Atty Conflict Hitting Whole Firm

    An American Bar Association ethics opinion released Wednesday offers new guidance on when a lawyer's conflict of interest after meeting with a prospective client should be considered to impact the whole firm and how lawyers can try to avoid sparking that whole-firm conflict.

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    US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws

    Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.

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    Future Of Judge-Shopping Reform Hazy After Rule Proposal

    The policymaking body for U.S. courts provoked a stir last week when it proposed a rule designed to curb "judge shopping," with observers saying that the policy does address one type of the practice but that it remains to be seen if individual federal district courts will be willing to adopt even that limited reform.

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    Legal Ops Pay Gap Has Widened For Women Since 2023

    Despite heavy representation in the legal operations field, women in this area continue to be underpaid compared to men, earning as much as 25% less total compensation than their peers, a new survey has found.

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    Rise In Civil Case Filings Mostly Driven By MDLs In 4 Districts

    The number of civil lawsuits filed in federal court grew significantly in 2023, but much of that growth was deceptive, as it was driven by a small number of mass torts in just a handful of individual districts.

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    Morgan Lewis Adds 3 Perkins Coie Attys To Investment Team

    Global firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP announced Friday that it has hired three ex-Perkins Coie LLP attorneys, including one of its practice group co-chairs, to strengthen its investment management team.

  • Law360 Pulse Spotlight On Mid-Law Work

    Keker Van Nest's representation of Meta in a suit against a former executive and Morrison Cohen's work on behalf of a venture capital fund lead this edition of Law360 Pulse's Spotlight On Mid-Law Work, recapping the top matters for Mid-Law firms from March 1 to 15.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry marked the Ides of March with another busy week as BigLaw firms expanded their practices and headcounts. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    'Perfect Storm' Caused 2023 Surge In Law Firm Leasing

    U.S. law firms in 2023 took on nearly 17 million square feet of office space, an unprecedented level of leasing activity driven by major law firm moves into trophy buildings in New York City, according to a report from commercial brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.

  • Law360 Legal Lions Of The Week

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Littler Mendelson PC kick off this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, with a win for business groups striking down the National Labor Relations Board's joint employer rule.

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    What GCs Want To See From Firms' New AI Practices

    As artificial intelligence practice groups pop up in law firms around the country, what do general counsel want from their external lawyers when it comes to this burgeoning technology?

  • 2nd Circ. Nixes NY Court Workers' Suit Over COVID Vax Policy

    The Second Circuit on Thursday backed the New York state court system's wins in two former employees' lawsuits alleging it unlawfully fired them for not being vaccinated against COVID-19, finding the system hadn't waived its immunity from federal disability bias claims.

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    Rising Turnover Seen Among Seasoned General Counsel

    After a slow 2022, the job market for experienced general counsel picked up to pre-pandemic levels last year, as companies look to external candidates who have taken on a broader scope of responsibilities, according to a just-released study.

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    Most States Fall Short In Disclosing Justices' Finance Reports

    The vast majority of state supreme courts make it exceedingly difficult for the public to get information about justices' financial entanglements, and the information they do give out is often scant at best, according to a report released Thursday.

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    Meet The Attys Vetting Clergy Abuse Claims In Eastern Conn.

    A Connecticut bankruptcy judge has appointed a retired Connecticut Superior Court judge and an experienced bankruptcy attorney to handle claims against the bankrupt Norwich Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp. of eastern Connecticut. Here, Law360 Pulse takes a further look at the two attorneys and their roles.

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    From Prosecutor To Firm Owner, Attys Start From Scratch

    Starting your own firm is a gamble for any lawyer, but it can feel particularly daunting for federal prosecutors, for whom leaving a job in the U.S. attorney's office can often feel like starting over completely.

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    Davis Wright's Managing Partner Steps Down From Post

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP's firmwide managing partner Scott MacCormack is stepping down after nearly three years at the helm, and the firm is appointing its Seattle office leader as an interim leader to guide the transition, the firm confirmed Wednesday.

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    How State Courts Are Improving Virtual Hearings

    State courts are improving virtual hearings by leveraging new technology, redesigning courtrooms, offering technical training to staff and improving case practices through the National Center for State Courts' Hybrid Hearings Improvement Initiative, according to a report it released this week.

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    Davis Wright's Revenue Grows, Partners Reach $1M Mark

    As the firm expands beyond its Seattle roots, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP has continued a decade-long streak of income growth with a 9% increase in revenue last year.

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    Anderson Kill Names Litigation Vet As Antitrust Co-Leader

    Anderson Kill PC has tapped a Philadelphia-based partner and commercial litigation specialist to co-lead the firm's antitrust and unfair competition practice group, the firm announced on Wednesday.

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    Firms Trimmed Entry-Level Hiring Amid Demand Shifts In 2023

    As the legal market adjusted from the post-pandemic hiring surge, law firms across the U.S. scaled back their recruitment efforts for entry-level associates last year, a result of firms realigning talent strategies to better serve clients' demands over the long term, a report Tuesday from the National Association for Law Placement found.

  • Pharmacy Calls $11M False Claims Case A 'House Of Cards'

    A compounding pharmacy and its president trashed the Connecticut attorney general's $11 million false claims and kickback allegations against them as a "house of cards" that awarded "a sweetheart cooperation deal" to an alleged co-conspirator and improperly benefited private attorneys, calling instead for a judgment against the state.

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    Anatomy Of Attrition: A Look At Law's Biggest Mergers

    After a law firm announces it's adding 100 or more lawyers via a merger, what does that then look like a year, two years or more later? How many lawyers stay with the merged firm? How many leave?

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    Civil Cases On The Rise In Federal Courts

    The number of civil cases filed in the federal courts jumped significantly in fiscal 2023, led by disputes between multiple states' citizens and personal injury suits, after a decrease in civil filings the year before, the federal judiciary said Tuesday.

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Expert Analysis

  • Why I Use ChatGPT To Tell Me Things I Already Know Author Photo

    The legal profession is among the most hesitant to adopt ChatGPT because of its proclivity to provide false information as if it were true, but in a wide variety of situations, lawyers can still be aided by information that is only in the right ballpark, says Robert Plotkin at Blueshift IP.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Use Social Media Responsibly? Author Photo

    Leah Kelman at Herrick Feinstein discusses the importance of reasoned judgment and thoughtful process when it comes to newly admitted attorneys' social media use.

  • Yada, Yada, Yada: The Magic Of 3 In Legal Writing Author Photo

    Attorneys should take a cue from U.S. Supreme Court justices and boil their arguments down to three points in their legal briefs and oral advocacy, as the number three is significant in the way we process information, says Diana Simon at University of Arizona.

  • How Firms Can Stop Playing Whack-A-Mole With Data Security Author Photo

    In order to achieve a robust client data protection posture, law firms should focus on adopting a risk-based approach to security, which can be done by assessing gaps, using that data to gain leadership buy-in for the needed changes, and adopting a dynamic and layered approach, says John Smith at Conversant Group.

  • 5 Life Lessons From Making Partner As A Solo Parent Author Photo

    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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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Turn Deferral To My Advantage? Author Photo

    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.

  • Resume Gaps Are No Longer Kryptonite To Your Legal Career Author Photo

    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.

  • Law Firm Guardrails For Responsible Generative AI Use Author Photo

    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.

  • Opinion

    We Must Continue DEI Efforts Despite High Court Headwinds Author Photo

    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.

  • Law Firms Cannot Ignore Attorneys' Personal Cybersecurity Author Photo

    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.

  • Why Writing CLE Should Be Mandatory For Lawyers Author Photo

    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.

  • How To Find Your Inner Calm When Client Obligations Pile Up Author Photo

    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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    Ask A Mentor: How Can I Support Gen Z Attorneys? Author Photo

    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.

  • Law Firm Cybersecurity Should Not Get Lost In The Cloud Author Photo

    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.

  • Advice For Summer Associates Uneasy About Offer Prospects Author Photo

    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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