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Modern Lawyer

BigLaw Attys Step Up To Help Voters In Midterm Elections

By Jack Karp and Lynn LaRowe

Attorneys from several BigLaw firms are volunteering across the country to make sure that voters don't run into problems casting their ballots or having those ballots counted in Tuesday's midterm elections.
Winston Taylor, DLA Piper Match Milbank Pay Scale

By Tracey Read

Two more BigLaw firms have opted to match the new associate salary scale set by Milbank LLP in June.
MVP: O'Melveny's Molly Lens

By Adam Lidgett

Molly Lens of O'Melveny & Myers LLP helped defend Paramount in two copyright suits over the studio's 2022 "Top Gun: Maverick" blockbuster film and achieved wins for CBS and Disney, making her one of the 2026 Law360 Media & Entertainment MVPs.
MVP: Gibson Dunn's Michael Cannon

By Kat Lucero

Michael Cannon, a partner in Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's Dallas office, co-led the tax team advising SpaceX on its pivotal transactions that wrapped up this year, including the largest initial public offering and M&A of all time, earning him a spot as one of the 2026 Law360 Tax MVPs.
MVP: Duane Morris' Gerald Maatman

By Y. Peter Kang

Gerald "Jerry" Maatman of Duane Morris LLP helped Papa John's beat a California privacy class action involving about 1.7 million potential class members and roughly $4 billion in potential exposure, earning him a spot as one of the 2026 Law360 Class Action MVPs.
MVP: Sheppard's Eric Newsom

By Dan McKay

Eric Newsom of Sheppard advised University of California, San Diego Health as it worked with California's largest public healthcare district to establish a new regional health system that will expand access to clinical care in San Diego County, earning him a spot as one of the 2026 Law360 Healthcare MVPs.
Troutman Hires Kirkland & Ellis PE Pro In Washington

By Jack Rodgers

Troutman Pepper Locke has hired a former Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner who is joining the firm in Washington, D.C., as part of its private equity and investment funds practice group, the firm announced Monday.
BakerHostetler Hires Chief Talent Exec From Baretz & Brunelle

By Jack Rodgers

BakerHostetler has hired a new chief talent officer, who has held the role at several other law firms and who most recently was a partner at a business consulting firm that works with a number of other law platforms, the firm announced Monday.
Kennedys Lands In Dallas With 14-Atty Aviation Firm Combo

By Lynn LaRowe

Kennedys announced Monday that the firm has gained a Dallas office and an aviation-focused trial group in the U.S. by bringing on a 14-attorney team from boutique Cunningham Swaim LLP, which is winding down after more than a decade of operations.
AI Law Firm Eyes PE Deal As It Bids For Weil Tech, Talent

By Marialuisa Taddia

AI-focused Scissero Law Ltd. said Monday that it is discussing a majority investment with around half a dozen midsized private equity firms and is also speaking with partners and other lawyers from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP about joining the firm.
Latham Adds Baker Botts, Sidley, Orrick Energy Attys

By Andrea Keckley

Latham & Watkins LLP announced Monday that it has hired five partners based in Houston and Washington, D.C., with experience in project development and finance matters across the energy and infrastructure sectors, including liquefied natural gas, power, renewables, data centers and oil and gas.
NY State Bar Says Attys Can't Bill Time Saved By AI

By Andrea Keckley

The New York State Bar Association has told lawyers not to bill clients for the time they saved by using artificial intelligence, or for the time it took to learn a new AI tool.
Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attorneys From 89 Firms

The lawyers chosen as Law360's 2026 MVPs stand out from their peers by notching significant achievements in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-setting transactions.
2nd Circ. Rejects Reed Smith's Bid To Halt File Turnover

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Second Circuit denied Reed Smith LLP's emergency stay request to pause lower court decisions requiring it to turn over client files related to shipping company Eletson on Friday, saying in a succinct order the same day that the bid didn't meet requirements outlined by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Weil Leases Add Pressure To $3B In CMBS Loans, KBRA Says

By Isaac Monterose

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's upcoming wind-down elevates credit risk for more than $3 billion worth of commercial mortgage-backed securities loans, because the firm is a tenant in several office buildings being used as collateral, Kroll Bond Rating Agency said.
Ramona Nee, Tapped To Lead Weil, Now In Talks With Kirkland

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Ramona Nee, the co-leader of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's U.S. private equity practice who had been poised to become its leader, is engaged in talks to join Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a source with knowledge of the situation told Law360 Pulse on Friday.
Cyberattack Class Action Against Fox Rothschild Dropped

By Madison Arnold

Three data breach victims have dismissed their proposed class action against Fox Rothschild LLP after ransomware group Silent Ransom Group targeted the firm.
Investment Atty Rejoins Faegre Drinker in Philly

By James Boyle

An attorney with expertise advising clients on managing investment funds has moved her practice back to Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP after nearly five years as in-house counsel for an asset management firm.
BigLaw Pro Bono Leaders Talk Shop, Biggest Challenges

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Pro bono work plays a crucial role in ensuring access to justice around the country. Here, four BigLaw attorneys speak on the current landscape of pro bono work, how it benefits young lawyers and the misconceptions they commonly run into.
Texas Atty To Plead Guilty In BigLaw Cyberstalking Case

By Jack Karp

A Texas lawyer is expected to plead guilty to harassing a BigLaw attorney online and via text and falsely telling law enforcement authorities that her victim intended to commit a mass shooting at a law firm, according to Friday court filings.
Polsinelli Adds ArentFox Schiff Healthcare Litigator In DC

By Christine DeRosa

Polsinelli PC has grown its healthcare litigation practice in the nation's capital with the addition of a longtime ArentFox Schiff LLP attorney.
Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Consovoy McCarthy PLLC and Smith Porsborg Schweigert Armstrong Moldenhauer & Smith lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Eighth Circuit struck down the Federal Reserve's regulatory cap on the swipe fees that larger banks may collect on debit card transactions.
Weil Juniors Risk Being Left Behind In Partner Moves

By Marialuisa Taddia

Trainees and junior lawyers at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP risk being left behind as partners negotiate moves to rival firms, recruiters say, with their prospects of joining those teams depending in part on whether departing partners advocate for them.
Hub Hires: WilmerHale, Womble Bond, Kirkland

By Chris Villani

Falling temperatures didn't bring a cooldown in the Boston legal lateral market as WilmerHale and Robinson & Cole LLP both welcomed former assistant attorneys general, Honigman LLP established its first office in the market, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP snagged a partner from Ropes & Gray LLP.
Sullivan & Cromwell Adds Cleary Partner As Antitrust Co-Head

By Jack Rodgers

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has hired a former Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP partner in Washington, D.C., who is taking the reins as co-chair of its antitrust group.

Expert Analysis

Series
Notes From A Partner-In-Charge On Local Office Culture
From encouraging innovation to boosting morale, using community building strategies to nurture a local office identity has multiple benefits for all aspects of a national law firm and its business, says Kate Heffernan, leader of Epstein Becker's Boston office.
Series
Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Curate Your Web Presence
Lawyers can tighten their business development strategy by defining a niche digital presence, translating experience into client benefits in website materials, and using LinkedIn and attorney bios to demonstrate relevant expertise before prospective clients make contact, says Michael Mellor at 742 Advisors.
Why Women Attys Aren't Using Firm Wellness Programs
The American Bar Association recently released the first national study centered on the mental well-being of women lawyers, but their recommendations misidentify why women with access to firm wellness programs are reluctant to use them for therapy, says Annia Raja at Helm Psychology.
Defensible Pricing Principles For Law Firm MSO Fees
As private equity investors increasingly invest in law firms using management services organizations, several Internal Revenue Code principles provide a framework for evaluating market-based pricing terms that respects fee-sharing prohibitions and mitigates investor concerns, says Perry Urken at Ryan.
7 Ways Legal Leaders Can Foster Firmwide Stewardship
As the modern mandate for law firm leaders' responsibilities expands to become more untenable, a chairperson’s best work is reflected in teamwide judgment, the next generation's confidence and the firm's ability to act without routing every decision through one person, says Eric Belfi, chairman at Labaton Keller.
Series
Legal Tech Talks: Centari CEO On Shifting Atty Role
Kevin Walker, founder and CEO of Centari, discusses how new technology can expand access to information, identify issues earlier and allow attorneys to play a more continuous role in helping clients make decisions.
Making Legal Cents: Get Better Intelligence For 2027 Planning
As strategic planning begins for the year ahead, firms must look beyond last year's numbers and ask harder questions about what is changing more broadly, what inside the firm needs to be fixed and what has to be true for the next investment or growth plan to work, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
Series
RFP Reset: In The Age Of AI, Evidence Beats Eloquence
As firms increasingly use artificial intelligence tools to quickly produce highly tailored responses to requests for proposals, polished prose alone tells clients less than it once did, so in-house teams should compare meaningful evidence and measure whether promised value is actually delivered, says Roger Rutkowski at Mercedes-Benz USA.
The Road Map To A Law Firm MSO IPO
For managing partners considering outside capital, one potential three-phase path could allow firms to transition from a traditional limited liability partnership to a publicly traded managed services organization structure, provided they keep ethical rules and regulations top of mind, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.
The Potential Risks Of A Law Firm MSO IPO
Though initial public offerings may represent the most efficient mechanism for recovering capital as private equity invests in law firm management services organizations, ethics rules, partner runs, shifting regulations and market pressures pose potential challenges, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.
Series
The GC's 1st 90 Days: How To Listen Before You Lead
For a new general counsel, scheduling conversations with your new team members, the C-suite and the company’s directors — where you can listen intently and strategically — is the fastest way to understand the company's fault lines and dynamics, says Alex Dimitrief, former general counsel at GE and Sotera Health.
The Economic Case For A Law Firm MSO IPO
As private equity investment in law firm management services organizations accelerates, initial public offerings may represent the most efficient mechanism for recovering capital at a multibillion-dollar scale, particularly if the transaction uses a tax-efficient partnership structure, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.
Series
Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Simplify Networking
The hardest part of business development is building relationships without feeling awkward or transactional, but to solve this networking conundrum we ranked networking activities from the least intimidating to the most challenging and shared a small, workable action item for each, say attorneys at Irell.
Community Is Key To Addressing Rural Legal Deserts
Pipeline programs for current and prospective lawyers to find and build careers in legal deserts should be designed with relationships and connection uppermost in mind and priority, says Presiding New York Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Garry.
Tech Plays An Indispensable Role In Addressing Legal Deserts
While building the Free Legal Answers platform, we have seen how technology can overcome barriers of time and space to make it easier for lawyers to help in legal deserts, meaning we must turn to big, bold measures, or the justice gap will continue to grow, says Buck Lewis at Baker Donelson.