Law Firm Merger Mania

Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.11.17

* "[W]e will do whatever we have to do to properly protect his rights vis a vis the company." Film producer and accused rapist Harvey Weinstein has hired Hollywood power lawyer Patricia Glaser to represent him in his fight against his own company. [Hollywood Reporter] * Hogan Lovells has been in the legal press a lot lately for its decision to shut things down, like careers. Now, the firm has decided to shut down an office in a far away land called Ulaanbaatar that you've likely never heard of before. [Legal Week] * What's the easiest way to get a new practice group running? By acquiring a boutique firm that's got an "innovative approach." That's what LeClairRyan did when it swallowed up Pizzo & Haman, a workers' compensation firm which is unique in that... its attorneys charge more than others in the same practice area. [Am Law Daily] * Enrollment has gone up in a major way at the Appalachian School of Law. The school's new 1L class is about 86 percent larger than last year's entering class, and its overall enrollment has increased by almost 40 percent. Considering that the school has been struggling in recent years, this must be nice for everyone in Grundy. [WCYB] * "What Could Equifax CLO John Kelley Have Done Differently?" Literally, anything. [Corporate Counsel]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 10.04.17

* Two-time presidential candidate and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton will travel to Wales next weekend to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Swansea University, but that's not the only honor she'll receive while there. Swansea's law school is being renamed, and will soon be known as the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law. Congratulations! [Wales Online] * Special counsel Robert Mueller has added an appellate lawyer from the Justice Department's criminal division to his team. Per a spokesperson, Scott Meisler, who had not been previously identified as being involved, joined the effort in mid-June. Meisler is a 2005 graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center. [Reuters] * Winston & Strawn may have more than 900 lawyers, but according to the firm's managing partner, that's still not good enough. You can soon expect the firm's corporate transactions practice in New York to expand, its D.C. office to grow in size, and its West Coast presence to double or triple. [Big Law Business] * According to Altman Weil’s MergerLine, law firm mergers are now on pace to break a 2015 record. Thus far in 2017, 76 tie-ups have been announced, which may lead the industry to surpass its previous high of 91 mergers. The number of law firm combinations could even exceed 100 this year. Exciting times... [Am Law Daily] * Retired U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Jr. will be retiring as founding dean of the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law as of June 30, 2018. Why is Furgeson planning to retire with only five years as dean under his belt? He's almost 76, and "plan[s] to do a lot of things when [he's] 80 -- but not this job." [Law.com]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 07.07.17

* Another day, another notable immigration ruling from the Ninth Circuit (by the great liberal lion, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, joined by his brilliant ideological protégé, Judge Marsha Berzon). [How Appealing] * The sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, which previously ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, will be retried in November. [Philadelphia Inquirer] * Why do associates leave Biglaw, and what can be done to reduce attrition? Insights from NALP and from Major Lindsey & Africa's Tina Cohen and Jennifer Henderson. [ABA Journal] * Law firm merger mania continues -- and much of the action is taking place abroad. [Law.com] * Senator Kamala Harris, prominent prosecutor turned politician, might get interrupted on occasion -- but she will not be stopped. [New York Times] * Linda Greenhouse wonders about Justice Neil Gorsuch: "How could the folksy 'Mr. Smith Goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee' morph so quickly into Donald Trump’s life-tenured judicial avatar?" [New York Times via How Appealing] * Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledges that the Republicans might not be able to repeal Obamacare right now -- and that an interim solution might be needed. [The Hill] * For interested readers, here's the "origin story" of Above the Law, which turns 11 next month. [Yale Alumni Association of New York]

By David Lat
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 06.05.17

* The Supreme Court has a few options when it comes to President Trump's travel ban. The justices can grant or deny certiorari to hear the case, or grant or deny a stay on lower court rulings blocking various aspects of the ban. Either way, this case could become moot before it's ever heard. [New York Times] * Meanwhile, the man who's the worst client in the universe lashed out at Justice Department lawyers this morning in a series of Tweets, demanding that the travel ban be referred to as a travel ban instead of the "watered down, politically correct version they submitted to [SCOTUS]." Congrats on undermining your case! [New York Times] * Get your popcorn ready, because according to two senior administration officials, President Trump will reportedly not be invoking executive privilege to block former FBI director James Comey from testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week in the ongoing Russia probe. [The Hill] * During a speaking engagement at Harvard, the Supreme Court's freshman, Justice Neil Gorsuch, recounted the time he met Sandy, the dean of Oxford's naked sex doll, who was dressed in only a boa. Although she could be counted on for answers, Gorsuch said she didn't provide him with any. [Washington Post] * Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will soon be the star of her very own fitness book. Co-authored by her longtime trainer Bryant Johnson and illustrator Patrick Welsh, "The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong ... and You Can Too!" (affiliate link) will be out the first week of October Term 2017. [Associated Press] * Womble Carlyle is entering into a transatlantic merger with British firm Bond Dickinson to become Womble Bond Dickinson. The combined firm will have about 1,080 lawyers across 23 offices, with revenues exceeding $410 million. A spokesperson claims the tie-up will not result in layoffs. [News & Observer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 04.26.17

* Can you hear me now? Modern marvels of technology like cellphones and other electronic devices are barred from the Supreme Court during oral arguments, but yesterday, justice was interrupted by the ringing of... a Justice's cellphone. Who was the culprit? The offending phone belonged to Justice Stephen Breyer. Oopsie! [AP] * After a week charged with sexual harassment allegations and the ouster of Bill O'Reilly, just when Fox News thought its troubles were over, a group of current and former employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the network alleging "abhorrent, intolerable, unlawful and hostile racial discrimination." The plaintiffs' lawyers got in this zinger of a statement: "When it comes to racial discrimination, 21st Century Fox has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox." [DealBook / New York Times] * Ever since it dumped Eversheds, Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner has been out on the prowl for another merger partner, and it looks like the firm has finally found its ideal mate in New York boutique Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman. The whole thing seems to be a bit "incestuous" if you ask us. We'll have more on this later today. [Am Law Daily] * Ahead of his confirmation hearing todays, Makan Delrahim, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the antitrust division of the Department of Justice who's been called a "centrist nominee," has pledged to recuse himself from all matters involving his prior work as a lobbyist, including the merger between Anthem and Cigna. [Big Law Business] * At some firms, like Ballard Spahr, senior partners must "transition[] their practices" by age 60, but at other firms, like Cozen O'Connor, age is nothing but a number. "We have so many lawyers who are extremely productive and terrific lawyers and if they want to work well into their 70s, God bless 'em," says CEO Michael Heller. [Philly Inquirer]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 03.23.17

* "You have been very much able to avoid any specificity like no one I have seen before. And maybe that’s a virtue, I don’t know. But for us on this side, knowing where you stand on major questions of the day is really important to a vote." Despite hours of questioning, Senate Democrats were unable to get Judge Neil Gorsuch to commit to any response beyond researched generalities. At this point, his confirmation seems inevitable. [New York Times] * Sure, Biglaw associates want their firms to be more progressive when it comes to flexible working arrangements, but that doesn't mean they feel comfortable taking advantage of the programs being offered. Per a survey conducted by the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance, only 8.8 percent of lawyers at firms with reduced hours policies actually work reduced hours. We'll have more on this later today. [Big Law Business] * Is this the end of the Swiss verein? While the legal structure has been adopted in almost every major cross-border law firm merger in recent memory, both of the last two transatlantic Biglaw tie-ups opted to use an entity called the company limited by guarantee (CLG). Apparently this legal structure is being favored for new law firm combinations because there are still questions about vereins' proper use. [Am Law Daily] * Dean Alex Acosta of Florida International University School of Law, a man who is better known these days as Trump's nominee to be the Secretary of Labor, not only says the fiduciary rule requiring retirement investment advisers to put their clients' interest first goes too far, but indicated that he may decline to defend a rule doubling the salary ceiling under which employees would be eligible for overtime pay. Ouch. [Reuters] * Now that Harvard Law has decided to accept applicants' GRE scores in lieu of their LSAT scores for admissions purposes, other law schools have decided to try the alternative exam on for size. Suffolk Law, for example, launched a study last week and offered students $100 to take the GRE. Suffolk's dean says that "the mad dash for the GRE is not being driven by declines in applications." Bless your heart. [Boston Globe]

By Staci Zaretsky
Morning Docket

Morning Docket: 01.06.17

* What's it like to be the "tweetingest judge in America"? Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court tells us what it's like to live a week in his life in this endearing column. From letting us know where he spends much of his time (the local Chick-fil-A) to revealing the reason he Tweets so much (to get reelected) to describing his love for his children, Justice Willett is a true gem of the judiciary. [Wall Street Journal] * Judge Timothy Parker of the Carroll County District Court in Arkansas has resigned from his post and agreed to never serve as a judge again to avoid being charged with ethical misconduct. Judge Parker was accused of arranging for defendants' pretrial releases in exchange for sexual favors, but says he never contested the allegations on the record because he has kids and "[didn't] want them exposed to that kind of crap." [AP] * The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has threatened to file suit against the National Park Service for "stonewalling and refusing to release permits that are vitally needed by organizers in order to plan and execute peaceful, lawful free-speech activities" -- that is, protests and rallies -- of Donald Trump's presidential inauguration. Only three groups out of 26 have received permits, and the inauguration is in two weeks' time. [Reuters] * "While it is encouraging to see small gains in most areas this year, the incredibly slow pace of change continues to be discouraging." The most recent National Association for Law Placement report has revealed that as usual, women and minorities are just barely making progress at the nation's largest law firms when it comes to their representation as a whole and their presence in firm partnerships. [DealBook / New York Times] * Per Altman Weil's latest report on law firm mergers, there were six fewer mergers in 2016 than in 2015. Although just 85 deals were announced last year compared to 91 in 2015, they were "better" than those announced in years prior, and in fact, some of the biggest names in Biglaw agreed to combine, including the Eversheds and Sutherland Asbill merger and the Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer merger. [Big Law Business]

By Staci Zaretsky