Bloomberg Law’s 4th annual Talent and Diversity Forum brings together industry leaders to share insights on what can actually increase diversity in the legal industry.

The event will be November 8, 2018, 8 a.m. to noon, in the offices of Bloomberg Government, 1101 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 2005.

With the emergence of new technologies and increased data analysis, the industry has seen significant shifts in recruiting and retention strategies and the emergence of an operations and value-driven business model, Bloomberg says on its website.

The half-day program will bring together corporate diversity champions, general counsel, and industry experts to offer up the newest ideas for bridging the ongoing diversity gap, from using technology to analyze data on prospective attorneys to ways to adapt an organization’s overall diversity initiatives to best suit an in-house legal team.

Key topics will include:

• Harnessing diversity in the changing business of law
• Using data and technology to increase diversity
• Workshopping scenarios to tackle diversity issues

Request an invitation.

Above the Law reports that Baker McKenzie released a joint report last week that admits the way the firm handled the alleged sexual assault by a partner at the firm involved “a number of shortcomings … which we very much regret.”

A partner in the firm’s London office was accused of assaulting an associate after a firm event six years ago, recalls Above the Law editor Kathryn Rubino. “The associate reported it to the firm, and they investigated. But instead of getting rid of the offending partner, the firm just sanctioned him and reached a settlement with the associate who was victimized. It was only after the story became public that the firm bowed to pressure and the accused partner left the firm.”

Read the Above the Law article.

Dallas business trial law firm Loewinsohn Flegle Deary Simon won the No. 1 spot for the Elite Trial Lawyers award, based on research by VerdictSearch, The National Law Journal and Law.com.

Three of the firm’s co-founders, Alan Loewinsohn, Craig Simon, and Matt Ray, accepted the award during a reception at the Las Vegas Bellagio Hotel on October 5.

The firm’s recent litigation includes a trial victory that resulted in a $6 billion verdict – the largest verdict of 2017 and one of the Top 10 verdicts in U.S. history.

Read details about the honor.

The ABA Journal reports that a Florida attorney is suing San Antonio lawyer Heather Clement Tessmer for using “Ever Argue With A Woman?” on billboards, the internet and business cards to pitch her legal services.

Florida lawyer Melissa Wilson claims in a federal lawsuit that Tessmer and her Tessmer Law Firm are infringing her trademark by using a confusingly similar slogan.

Journal reporter Debra Cassens Weiss explains: “Wilson says she has been using the slogan since at least September 2007, and she sent an email telling Tessmer to stop after she learned of the infringement from confused consumers around April 2014. Her lawyers also tried to contact Tessmer, but Tessmer never responded, the suit says.”

Read the ABA Journal article.

To be most effective, crisis planning has to start now, before there’s a crisis to respond to, advises Androvett Legal Media & Marketing in a new video and post on the company’s website.

“When there is a crisis, you want to be ready to jump into action as fast as possible, not starting from scratch. But remember, being fast doesn’t mean being sloppy. You can take a very strategic approach to putting your plan together,” according to the post.

The authors discuss some simple steps to follow, including: identify what matters, identify your audiences, list the questions, write out your answers, designate a single spokesperson, identify clear lines of authority, and consider media training.

See the video and post.

The annual holiday advertising blitz soon will begin signaling the year’s end, but lawyers and their firms still have plenty of time to lay the groundwork for effective legal marketing as we head into 2019, writes Bruce Vincent for Muse Communications.

He offers some recommendations, focusing on a few deadlines and easy-to-employ tactics prior to the New Year that can be used to market individual attorneys and firms.

First, now is the time to start working toward nominations for the “best of” and “best lawyers” lists, Vincent suggests. This also is a good time either to start or update a firm’s social media presence. And the end of the year is the time to send holiday-appropriate greetings to clients and potential clients.

Read the article.

The Ohio law firm owned by disbarred attorney Stan Chesley has agreed to pay $23.5 million to hundreds of the firm’s former clients after a now-four-year battle over money a judge said they are owed, according to The Cincinnati Equirer.

Reporter Kevin Grasha writes that Chesley’s attorneys agreed there was “unjust enrichment” to the firm when it took millions of dollars more in fees than it should have as part of a class-action lawsuit.

Chesley, who was disbarred in Kentucky over his actions, was the sole owner of the firm, Waite Schneider Bayless & Chesley. Legal action against him will continue, said Angela Ford, the attorney who represents the 382 former clients.

Read the Cincinnati Enquirer article.

Above the Law reports that women in the Jones Day Business and Tort Litigation group have been “encouraged” to tell management if they were pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant within the next year.

ATL executive editor Elie Mystal writes:

We’re told that partner Stephen Sozio, who is co-leader of the firm’s health care practice and chair of the firm’s litigation department in Cleveland, added that he understood if women who were in their first trimester were uncomfortable talking to him. He encouraged those women to contact his administrative assistant and tell her about their plans.

The women were told that the information would help the group plan its budget.

Read the Above the Law article.

The FBI is investigating a lobbying contract between Jackson County in Misssouri and Biglaw firm Polsinelli, The Kansas City Star reports.

A federal judge referred to the investigation of a lobbying contract last week as she sentenced former Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders and top aide Calvin Williford to prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The article by Steve Vockrodt and Mike Hendricks explains:

Federal lobbying disclosures show that Polsinelli began lobbying for Jackson County in 2010 until the relationship was terminated in April 2018. Jackson County paid the law firm $1.27 million, largely for lobbying on transportation issues.

It’s not publicly clear what investigators are examining, but multiple sources have said part of the investigation concerns questionable travel expenses.

Read the KC Star article.

Fish & Richardson has “reassessed” its earlier decision not to give raises to associates and now has reversed course and will set starting salaries for associates at $190,000, reports Above the Law.

“According to the firm-wide email, the powers that be at Fish ‘continued to monitor market conditions’ and ‘listened to the reactions of associates throughout the Firm’ and whaddaya know, and they’ve ‘reassessed’ their position. Turns out hitting the $190,000 mark for starting associate salaries is good business,” writes editor Kathryn Rubino.

Seventh-year associates can look forward to salaries of $325,000 on the new scale.

Read the Above the Law article.

The central question, “What should I blog about?,” is enough to keep many people from launching a blog, let alone embarking on a more comprehensive content marketing program, points out Amy Boardman Hunt of Muse Communications.

An hour or so of brainstorming probably can generate a dozen solid ideas that can populate your firm’s blog for months, she suggests. Add to that the occasional firm news, “best lawyer” listing, etc., and you’ve got a vibrant legal blog.

In her article, she discusses some legal blogger writing prompts to get the blogger thinking about good post content, and concludes with some common-sense advice.

Read the article.

A former partner at Manatt has filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, on behalf of herself and those similarly situated alleging gender discrimination and retaliation at the Biglaw firm, reports Above the Law.

Rebecca Torrey’s filing details allegations of a “boys’ club” an environment that weighs “heavily in the favor of male partners.”

Torrey also alleges the compensation structure for partners is dictated by a group hand-selected by outgoing firm managing partner, William Quicksilver, and who rarely challenge his recommendations.

Read the Above the Law article.

Above the Law reports that four partners in the London office of Ropes & Gray are being forced out following a strategic shift in the firm’s direction.

Editor Kathryn Rubino quotes a report from Legal Week: “Multiple sources have told Legal Week that the quartet are set to leave following discussions with firmwide management, who travelled into London last week from the US.

“One former partner said of the exits: ‘It seems like a bit of a bloodbath over there at the moment. It has for a long time. The last two years have been shaky.’”

Read the Above the Law article.

Some lawyers and law firms dismiss social media in terms of marketing, but it can be a difference maker if you know where to be online and what to do once you get there, advises Bruce Vincent of Muse Communications.

Once you’ve embraced the notion of devoting some thought and effort to social media marketing, it’s time to determine where the people you want to reach can be found online, and that requires identifying your social media audience.

The article also offers some advice on what lawyers should say online, and the importance of staying the course on social media.

Read the article.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that bay area law firm Archer Norris has filed for bankruptcy and plans to dissolve this fall.

The Walnut Creek firm, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Newport Beach, deals mainly in business and insurance litigation, according to Chronicle reporter Rebecca Aydin. It is closing those offices, where it employs 124 people, according to a notice the firm sent to state officials, and expects all to lose their jobs.

A court-approved interim operations will allow the firm’s employees to be paid to keep working with clients until mid-September.

Read the SF Chronicle article.

Bloomberg Law is reporting that Kenneth W. Starr, the former independent counsel, appeals court judge, and U.S. solicitor general, is going to be practicing law again.

Starr, the former Baylor University president, will join the Houston trial firm The Lanier Law Firm, which is involved in some of the country’s biggest civil disputes, including over hip replacements and talcum powder, writes Elizabeth Olson.

“Starr already has been working with the Lanier firm’s appellate litigation team on multi-million-dollar hip implant litigation against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary DePuy Orthopaedics Inc.,” according to the report.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

Although a settlement agreement may bind one or more parties to its confidentiality provision, an attorney’s signature under the words “approved as to form and content” does not impose any specific obligation on the attorney to maintain the confidentiality of the settlement, according to a recent California appellate ruling.

The Jackson Lewis California Workplace Law Blog discusses a case in which the court found the attorney was entitled to the granting of an anti-SLAPP motion in a case against him for breaching the confidentiality provision of the settlement, finding that he was not a party to that agreement.

“Recognizing that confidentiality is often a material term of a settlement agreement, the Court noted that a way to avoid this issue is to draft a settlement agreement that explicitly makes the attorneys parties to the agreement (even if only to the confidentiality provision) and explicitly requires them to sign as such,” according to the authors, Ellen E. Cohen and Hazel U. Poei.

Read the article.

Although the main purpose of a law firm newsletter should be substantive legal information, it also provides a good opportunity to include more than just blog posts, writes Amy Boardman Hunt of Muse Communications.

“Think of your newsletter as your firm’s hometown newspaper, and let people know about the interesting stories, people, and events that make your firm unique,” she suggest in a blog post on the Muse website. “Don’t go overboard, of course. The main focus should be legal updates, but feel free to add one or two items that veer outside those confines.”

She offers suggestions for additional content to include, such as client case studies, client victories, practice area promotions, recent publications or media appearances.

“An email newsletter isn’t simply an electronic communication. It’s a chance to deepen your and your firm’s connection with your network. Use that opportunity to its fullest,” she writes.

Read the article.

Bloomberg Law reports that rising demand and rates pushed law firm revenue up 5.5 percent in the first half of 2018, the strongest performance since the recession.

The information is based on a report by Citi Private Bank’s law firm group.

“The 40 out of 50 largest firms which reported their metrics outperformed,” writes reporter Elizabeth Olson. “The biggest reported a revenue increase of 6.8 percent. Roughly 3.2 percent came from rising demand, and 4.8 percent from higher bill rates.”

Firms in the next category, ranked by size, had slightly lower rates of revenue growth, while smaller, niche firms reported sightly stronger growth.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

Bloomberg Law is reporting that a law partner who sued her firm, Proskauer Rose, for $50 million over allegations of gender discrimination and unequal pay has settled the case.

Details of the settlement between Connie Bertram and the firm weren’t disclosed.

Bertram, who headed the firm’s labor practice in Washington, sued last year, alleging she was underpaid in relation to her male colleagues and that she was excluded from projects after complaining about it, writes Stephanie Russell-Kraft.

Bertram has remained at the firm since filing the lawsuit in May 2017.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.