The Notice: News and Resources for Paralegals, Litigation Support & Docketing Professionals
The Notice
May greetings to you all! Can you believe we're already five months into the year? Speaking of which, we hope the abundant April showers have brought you plenty of May flowers or, at the very least, some lush greenery. On that note… we're excited to announce that?our partnership with Evertreen?has enabled us to expand our reach to Honduras, planting?over 340 trees and counting. We couldn't have done this without your support, and we're grateful for your role in making this initiative possible!
In recent legal news: millennials, who are now the largest group in the legal profession, are increasingly being promoted to partnership and leadership positions within their firms; Zillow faces an antitrust law suit following anticompetitive business practices; legal tech is revolutionizing the legal system by promoting fairness and reducing bias, and more!?
And finally,?the?2023 ALA Annual Conference & Expo?is only a week away?from May 7-10. Be sure to stop by?Booth 835?at the?Seattle Convention Center?to see how ECFX brings magic to law firms by automating the processing of electronic court filing (ECF) notices for both Federal and State courts. Enter our raffle for a chance to win a DJI Mavic Drone and pick yourself up a magic wand while you are there!?Learn more and schedule a meeting with us below.
~The Team at ECFX
Working in Large Law
For top Biglaw firms,?2021 was an incredible year: gross revenue rose nearly 15%, while profits per equity partner grew almost 20%. Those growth rates were obviously unsustainable, so there is no great surprise that the financial metrics reported in the just-released?2023 edition of the Am Law 100?indicate a return to earth. 2022 was a roughly flat year. But considering the lofty heights reached in 2021, that actually isn’t so bad.
Collectively, in 2022,?the AmLaw 100 attained:
Positive revenue growth paired with declining RPL implies that increases in headcount played a material role. Indeed, total Am Law 100 headcount rose 4.7% (approximately 5,000 additional lawyers), with equity partnerships expanding by 1% (+207 equity partners) and the nonequity partner pool growing by 6.4% (+1,175 nonequity partners). This is consistent with our observations of the 2022 lateral market: even as deal work took a hit, 2022 was a reasonably strong year for lateral hiring.
Read the full article?here
Members of the millennial generation make up the largest proportion of the legal profession, and more are becoming partners and moving into leadership roles at their firms.
As part of Above the Law’s long-running study with Major, Lindsey & Africa, we surveyed 1,000+ attorneys to better understand the priorities and perspectives of the millennial generation. The results of our 2023 survey are now available in this?free report.
Among the key findings:
News for 2022
A U.S. judge on Tuesday said Zillow Group Inc?Chief Executive Rich Barton can be questioned in a rival real estate platform's antitrust lawsuit in Seattle federal court, over an objection that he has no material involvement in the issues in the case.?
U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly said in an order that REX -Real Estate Exchange Inc could depose Barton for up to three hours in the company's lawsuit filed in 2021 accusing Zillow and National Association of Realtors (NAR) of anticompetitive business practices.
Zillow's lawyers had?opposed?any questioning of Barton, who co-founded Zillow in 2005 and has served as CEO since 2019. Zillow reported $2 billion in revenue last year.
REX's lawsuit alleged Zillow in 2021 redesigned its consumer website in concert with NAR to "segregate, conceal and demote" home listings that were not part of NAR's member-operated multiple listing services. They comprise the databases showing residential real estate for sale in regions across the country.
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Read the full article?here
Lawsuits have been filed over the terms of last month's emergency deal to save Swiss lender Credit Suisse?(CSGN.S)?by selling it to its bigger rival UBS?(UBSG.S).
The 3 billion Swiss franc ($3.4 billion) rescue, hammered out over a weekend during a bout of turmoil in the global banking sector, upended a long-established practice of giving bondholders priority over shareholders in a debt recovery.
Around 16 billion Swiss francs of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) Credit Suisse debt was written down to zero, in a?shock?to markets.
Law firms such as Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Pallas Partners and?Korein Tillery, a boutique law firm specializing in complex litigation, are among those who have spoken to?prospective bondholder clients?about bringing claims.
Read the full article?here
Technology and Legal Support
The legal industry is undergoing a transformative shift with the rise of technology specifically designed for this field. With an array of tools, applications, and software available, this technology is enhancing and streamlining legal operations in ways that were once impossible.?
The current state of bias in the justice system is well documented, with marginalized communities often experiencing unfair and unequal treatment. However, technology can help to reduce the impact of bias and promote fairness in the system. One way is through the use of algorithms that are being used to analyze legal data and identify patterns of bias related to race, gender, and ethnicity. By identifying these patterns, technology can help reduce the impact of bias by providing objective information that can be used to make more informed decisions.?
Another way that technology is helping to promote fairness is by increasing access to information and services. Many marginalized communities lack access to legal information and services due to financial constraints or geographic barriers. Legal technology is bridging this gap by providing free or low-cost legal services through online platforms.?
Read the full article?here
In today’s legal profession, lawyers must be technologically competent. This is reinforced by ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.1 and Comment 8. Currently, most states have created the duty of technology competency by adopting some form of Model Rule 1.1 and/or Comment 8.?Law schools have a duty to maintain a rigorous program of legal education and enable students to develop their professional identity.?Law schools also have an ethical obligation to train technology competency skills and offer basic technology training in required first-year legal practice courses and upper-level legal technology courses.
our profession is moving forward technologically with a fully computer-based exam to assess whether candidates for bar admission have competency beyond doctrine.?Examinees will be required to perform the activities typically required of a newly licensed lawyer.?The National Conference of Bar Examiners has announced that the next generation of the bar exam will debut in 2026.?The Next Gen Bar Exam will test necessary legal practice skills such as client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationships and management.
Read the full article?here
Stop by?Booth 835?at the?ALA Annual Conference & Expo?to see how ECFX can bring magic to your firm!
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You can Register?Here?or?Schedule a Meeting?with us