“Global law firm Hogan Lovells has opened a Legal Service Center (LSC) in the firm’s Louisville office. The LSC provides dedicated services to the Corporate & Finance practice with an initial focus on due diligence analysis and review services. The LSC is co-located with the firm’s existing Global Business Service team,” reports Hogan Lovells in their Press Releases.

“The LSC currently has a team of five dedicated to providing legal services related to corporate and finance matters. The team is led by Robert Fleu, who joined the firm in May 2020, and has 20 years of combined experience in-house and at an Am Law 200 law firm. Hogan Lovells expects to grow the team at the LSC over time to meet increasing client needs.”

“Currently focused on providing due diligence support for M&A, capital markets, and other transactional matters, the team plans to add additional capabilities to support all of the core practices of the firm’s Corporate & Finance practice. These will include areas such as fund formation, finance, bankruptcy, private equity, and venture capital.”

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“A new pair of bonuses recently introduced by Big Law to reward and retain associates may not be enough to keep them in their seats in a hot job market and amid what recruiters call increasing lawyer burnout,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s US Law Week.

“Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Davis Polk & Wardwell kicked off the new bonus race earlier this month, offering up to $64,000 per attorney.”

“Through March 29, more than 20 Big Law firms have matched this “special bonus” scale, including Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Cooley, Fenwick & West, Latham & Watkins, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Kirkland & Ellis is among a number of Big Law firms that have yet to announce a match.”

“The case for bonuses is simple: Big Law business is booming, particularly in the corporate space, and extra cash could help recruit and retain associates. On the other side of the equation is the lure of a hot job market and burnout from the heaviest workloads firms have faced in recent memory, along with personal pressures caused by Covid-19.”

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“Day Pitney LLP announced that it will expand its East Coast presence through a merger with Rhode Island-based law firm Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg LLP, a dedicated trusts and estates boutique handling complex and sophisticated planning, probate and trust matters for high net worth individuals and families. Nine attorneys, including name partners Renée A. R. Evangelista and A. Max Kohlenberg, will join the firm’s Individual Clients department, growing its ranks to nearly 80 attorneys, once the merger is completed effective July 1, 2021,” announced Day Pitney in their Press Releases.

“The combined firm will retain the Providence office and all personnel of Howland Evangelista Kohlenberg. The attorneys joining Day Pitney have experience in estate planning, estate settlement and trusteeship. Evangelista, admitted in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, handles sophisticated estate planning and implements estate settlement techniques to save clients gift, estate and income taxes, while ensuring that their property passes according to their wishes. Kohlenberg, admitted in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, focuses on complex estate and trust planning, with particular emphasis on representing multigenerational family groups, professionals, executives and owners of closely held businesses.”

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“Way back in September 2020, when Biglaw firms were busy rolling back their COVID austerity measures, one firm decided to offer a sign of hope for all associates. After surviving salary cuts, furloughs, and sometimes even layoffs, their firms really did appreciate all of the hard work they were putting in during the pandemic,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Cooley — a firm that hadn’t announced any compensation cuts — stepped up and offered special bonuses ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for all associates and counsel. Of course, Davis Polk upped the ante (just like the firm did this spring), but Cooley deserves all the credit in the world. Now, the firm is here to match Davis Polk once again.”

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“Which firm is the latest to fall in line and offer up bountiful bonuses in recognition of its attorneys’ hard work?,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“That would be Paul Weiss. Chairman Brad Karp sent a memo yesterday evening detailing all of the hard work associates and counsel had put in during 2020 and beyond, including work for their communities in the firm’s coronavirus relief center and for its racial justice, social justice, and voter-protection initiatives.”

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“Debevoise & Plimpton’s associates and counsel in the U.S. will receive special bonuses in June and September of this year, as Big Law seeks to reward lawyers for their hard work during Covid-19 and to retain valuable talent,” reports Rebekah Mintzer in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“The dual cash payouts will total between $12,000 and $64,000 depending on the attorney’s seniority, according to a firm memo obtained by Bloomberg Law late Wednesday. This is on par with the totals offered by others over the past week, including fellow Wall Street firms Davis Polk & Wardwell, Milbank, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.”

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“New York’s Davis Polk & Wardwell, whose fall 2020 bonuses set the standard for top law firms looking to reward pandemic-weary associates, said Monday it will give associates extra bonuses in the spring and fall of 2021, too. The special 2021 bonuses range from $12,000 combined for the class of 2020 up to $64,000 for the class of 2014 and earlier,” reports Reuters Legal in Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.

“Associates will be paid between $4,500 and $24,000 on April 26 and then from $7,500 up to $40,000 on September 30, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. They’ll also get a typical year-end bonus.”

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“Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has hired former Kirkland & Ellis partner Joseph Halloum to build out the firm’s upstart Silicon Valley office,” reports Roy Strom in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Halloum had been a partner since 2016 at Kirkland, where he worked on major transactions including the sales of Delphi Technologies, Del Frisco’s, and Smart & Final to private equity companies.”

“The hire adds depth to Freshfields’ Silicon Valley office, which opened in July with splash hires from firms including Davis Polk & Wardwell, Sidley Austin, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. The firm signed a 10-year lease in a new office building in February, and currently lists 16 Silicon Valley lawyers on its website.”

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“Thanks to the pandemic, it’s been a year since lawyers were forced to leave the comforts of their offices and adapt to working from home on a semi-permanent basis. The thought of working from home used to be seen as a somewhat of a luxury, but after doing it for 12 months straight, it’s become simply exhausting. When your home is your office and your office is your home, the concept of work-life balance is no more, especially for lawyers who thought they were always ‘on’ even before the coronavirus crisis. One firm has come up with an amazing solution for this problem,” writes Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Orrick — a firm that brought in $1,158,537,000 in 2019 gross revenue, placing in at No. 31 in the most recent Am Law 100 rankings — is offering everyone (i.e., staff, associates, of counsel, career associates, and partners) the chance to truly ‘unplug.’ The firm will credit 40 hours of bonus-eligible time for everyone to sit back, relax, and stop doing work.”

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“Nikola Corp. has given more than $79.6 million in stock to its chief legal officer Britton Worthen, who last year agreed to forego a $250,000 salary at the electric truck and hydrogen fuel cell battery maker,” reports Brian Baxter in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Nikola disclosed the equity grants to Worthen and five other current and former executives—worth more than $560 million—in a Monday securities filing ahead of a $100 million share sale by the company.”

“The executives must stay at Nikola through June 2023 to collect the grants, which are pegged to certain share price targets. ‘None of the share price milestones have been achieved and none of the performance awards have been earned,’ the filing said.”

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“Clifford Chance and Herbert Smith Freehills are paying staff an extra bonus of 5% of their salary for their hard work during the pandemic,” reports James Dennison in Roll on Friday.

“‘Over an extraordinary year, and in the face of sometimes immense personal challenges, our people have consistently gone the extra mile to support our clients and to support each other,’ CC’s Global Managing Partner Matthew Layton told RollOnFriday. I could not be prouder of our team here at Clifford Chance.'”

“The Magic Circle firm is giving a one-off payment of 5% of salary to staff worldwide – which is in addition to other salary and bonus reviews, and does not replace them.”

“Earlier this week, Herbert Smith Freehills also announced that it would provide an additional 5% bonus to all staff. CEO Justin D’Agostino said the payment is an acknowledgement of the ‘dedication and hard work’ of staff ‘in the face of the tremendous disruption and challenges experienced in the last year.'”

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“The American Bar Association (ABA) has issued Formal Opinion 498, which outlines several of the ethical implications of maintaining a virtual law practice but focuses primarily on data privacy and security issues,” write Calon N. Russell and Trisha M. Rich in Holland & Knight’s Insights.

“Although the opinion, released on March 10, 2021, identifies potential areas of concern for lawyers with virtual offices, it offers little specific guidance regarding what lawyers must do to address such issues. Lawyers with a virtual practice, therefore, will need to continue to make sure they understand the ethical issues and risks at play in connection with their particular areas of practice in order to choose and manage technologies that will aid such practices without creating undue risk.”

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“Boies Schiller Flexner will likely drop out of the American Lawyer’s list of the nation’s top 100 grossing law firms after losing a third of its equity partners last year,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Latest News.

In 2020 “Boies Schiller saw a 38% drop in gross revenue, a 54% drop in net income and a 32.1% drop in profits per equity partner. Revenue per lawyer increased, however, by 4.6%.”

“Total gross revenue was $250 million, down from $405 million in 2019. That number will likely keep Boies Schiller out of the Am Law 100 list, given that the firm in last place last year had $380.3 million in gross revenue.”

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“Biglaw has done well — really, really well — in spite of the ongoing pandemic. In fact, the largest law firms in America have done so well that some associates have started to wonder whether salary increases could be in their futures. The last time this happened was in 2018, when the majority of Biglaw firms increased their base pay for associates to $190K,” writes Staci Zaretsky in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“Today, it looks like raises are on the horizon for associates working for at least one firm, but will others follow in this firm’s footsteps?”

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Biglaw has endured a practice-level impact over the past year, report Roy Strom, Brian Baxter, Paige Smith and Matthew Bultman in Boomberg Law’s Coronavirus.

“Last May, reporters across the Bloomberg Law newsroom spoke with Big Law attorneys and in-house counsel about how the pandemic was impacting their work. As the one-year mark nears, we again checked in with lawyers in a variety of practice areas.”

“Here’s what they told us.”

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“DLA Piper LLP (US) is pleased to announce a number of firm and practice leadership changes,” released DLA Piper in their Newsroom.

“The firm has formed an 11-person Management Team, which will support Frank Ryan, who assumed the role of Americas chair January 1, in the leadership of the firm.”

“‘I’m a strong believer in the power and importance of the team, and I’m pleased that this talented and diverse group has chosen to join me in the leadership of the firm,’ said Ryan. ‘Each of them has demonstrated a strong commitment to DLA Piper, developed a notable reputation in the marketplace, provided exemplary service to clients and has a solid record of mentoring others. I look very forward to working with them to the benefit of the firm, our clients, our people and our communities.'”

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“Some of the nation’s top law firms posted substantial boosts in profits last year after laying off attorneys or staff members,” reports Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s News.

“… at least 15 of the nation’s 200 highest-grossing firms posted revenue or profit increases of more than 5% last year, even after layoffs. Most were among the nation’s top 100 firms.”

“… layoffs were needed to keep their firms healthy. Some said decisions were made before they saw an increase in demand for legal work later in the year. And some said layoffs were already planned, but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the timeline.”

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“Davis Polk & Wardwell, which was the first Big Law firm to offer a ‘special bonus’ of up to $40,000 for associates last year, is offering them another thank you for hard work during the pandemic in the form of high-end gift packages,” reports Meghan Tribe in Bloomberg Law’s Business & Practice.

“Associates have the opportunity to select a gift from a curated selection of items and experiences that include a shopping spree, fitness equipment, and wine packages, said Davis Polk managing partner Neil Barr in an email.”

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“Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP has filed a federal lawsuit against founding name partner Jason Cyrulnik, alleging he was unanimously voted out of the firm for ‘abusive, destructive, erratic, and obstructive behavior,’ but has refused to leave,” posts Thomson Reuters Westlaw Today.

“The 25-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on Saturday asks a judge to rule that Cyrulnik was properly voted out of the partnership. The firm accused Cyrulnik of refusing to leave unless he receives ‘excessive payments.'”

“The firm voted Cyrulnik out on Feb. 12. Although he is no longer on the website, Cyrulnik, through his attorney Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz Benson Torres, told his colleagues he has no intention of leaving, according to the lawsuit.”

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“Three top U.S. law firms, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Latham & Watkins, announced Monday they hired antitrust partners, signaling growing demand as regulators more closely scrutinize potential anticompetitive behavior,” reports Rebekah Mintzer in Bloomberg Law’s The United States Law Week.

“The four new hires have government antitrust enforcement experience that could be useful for clients facing an anticipated growth in scrutiny under the Biden administration and public debate about “breaking up” Big Tech and other industries.”

“According to data from Decipher, which performs due diligence for law firm hires, between November 2020 and January 2021 there have been 80% more antitrust lateral moves announced by Big Law compared to an average of the same period from the previous three years.”

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