LWIL #1
Empty Suits, Empty Offices
What’s on the docket this week:
- Featured Story – Empty Suits, Empty Offices
IP/Transactional – Taylor Swift Tries to “Shake it Off” Amid Plagiarism Trial
Litigation – Homes of Black Families Are Being Under-Valued in California Market
Legaltech – Legal Tech Sees a Step in the Right Direction as DISCO CEO Takes Company Public
Criminal/Politics – SEC Gives JPMorgan Chase Record Fine For Using WhatsApp to Conduct Business
Finance/Econ/Regulatory – IRS Set to Increase Limits For 401(k) Plans For 2022
Ethics – Don’t run around an apartment complex in your underwear with a knife while doing cocaine
Featured Story – Empty Suits, Empty Offices
“We now have three partners living in Park City, Utah. Does that mean we have an office in Park City? I don’t know.”
Last month, Quinn Emanuel, one of the most profitable law firms in the world, announced that U.S. lawyers at Quinn Emanuel can “work from anywhere” indefinitely.
The move is primarily designed to attract and retain lawyers in a competitive market, John Quinn, the firm’s founder, said in an interview.
“We need more high quality lawyers. That’s the real impetus for this,” Quinn said. “We shouldn’t be limited to recruiting high quality lawyers who just happen to be in a city where we don’t have an office.”
Thinking back to my first days at a law firm after passing the Bar – responding to emails, working case files and answering phone calls – the job could have been done almost entirely remotely. And that was back in 2011.
In the decade since then, even before the pandemic, much of the tech and business world allowed staff to work remotely at times. But almost universally, law firms rejected the idea. Legal work and “firm culture” was too important to allow people to work remotely.
Then a pandemic blew that lie out of the water. And just like staff at many other companies, associates and junior partners discovered they have more leverage than they thought.
If you’re a high performing lawyer, there has never been a better time to shop around at firms. Better pay, better working conditions, flexibility around how and where you work – they’re all available to you.
Go get it.
IP/Transactional
Taylor Swift Tries to “Shake it Off” Amid Plagiarism Trial
Copyright allegations are surrounding Taylor Swift as she is being accused of lifting her “Shake it Off” song lyrics from the 3WL song “Playas Gon’ Play.” Getting the original 2017 lawsuit thrown out in 2018 was a short-lived win for Swift, as the court decided to reverse the decision in 2019 due to the possibility that there is a genuine dispute surrounding the similarity between the lyrics. It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit goes and its effects on the future of copyright infringement in the music industry.
Litigation
Homes of Black Families Are Being Under-Valued in California Housing Market
A lawsuit in Marin City, California, was filed against an appraisal company citing housing discrimination after a drastic difference in price between a black and white family, for the same home. The appraisal for the white family was over $500,000 more than the appraisal for the black family. This suit claims that the appraisal company is practicing a form of redlining, and the large discrepancy in price is proof of a flawed system that needs to be addressed.
Legaltech
Legal Tech Sees a Step in the Right Direction as DISCO CEO Takes Company Public
Since 2002 there has been a drought in public legal tech companies. That ended this year as DISCO became the third legal tech company to go public this year. With no sign of technological innovation slowing and the tech sphere spilling into the legal space, this IPO trend is likely to continue showing positive implications for the broader legal tech market.
Criminal/Politics
SEC Gives JPMorgan Chase Record Fine For Using WhatsApp to Conduct Business
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay a $125 million penalty for allowing employees to use third-party communication apps to bypass federal record-keeping laws. This practice was so widespread at the company that it has caught the attention of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who is hitting JP Morgan with a $75 million dollar fine for using unapproved communications. As technology changes, it is even more important that companies ensure that their communications are recorded appropriately.
Finance/Econ/Regulatory
IRS Set to Increase Limits For 401(k) Plans For 2022
In the latest cost-of-living adjustment, the IRS has determined that workers can funnel more money into their 401(k) plans this year in an effort to lessen American retirement insecurity. Despite rising inflation, the $1,000 boost in saving opportunities was not extended to individual retirement accounts, limiting savings opportunities. On the bright side, more Americans may now qualify for Roth IRA contributions, with income phaseouts rising to $129,000 to $144,000 for single savers ($204,000 to $214,000 for couples filing together).
Ethics
Don’t run around an apartment complex in your underwear with a knife while doing cocaine
For those who follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I am a collector of woeful ethics tales from unfortunate lawyers. I have hundreds of ethics opinions from around the USA. I’ll be featuring one every week.
Discipline: 21 month suspension.
Good thing he didn’t screw with his trust account.
Until next week, adjourned.
Keith