DC Pulse


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    Law Firm Marketing Budgets Have Fallen Behind Firm Growth

    During a period when many law firms experienced strong revenue and headcount growth, the industry's marketing budgets did not grow at the same pace, according to the results of a survey released Thursday.

  • Holocaust Case Ruling Puts Similar Claimants In Tough Spot

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Friday rejecting an expansive view of a sovereign immunity exception appears to have put even longer odds on lawsuits filed by claimants suing over Nazi-looted property.

  • GOP Reps. Criticize Judges At 'Impeachathon'

    A trio of House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a list of federal judges they're targeting for impeachment as they, along with presidential adviser Elon Musk, go after those who rule against the Trump administration's executive actions.

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    Dewberry Ruling May Lead To More Defendants In TM Fights

    Plaintiffs in trademark disputes likely will consider including multiple defendants in their complaints when it's unclear who holds the profits from the alleged infringement, according to intellectual property attorneys, after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a case because nonparty affiliates of a defendant were ordered to pay an award that reached nearly $47 million.

  • MSPB Pauses Firing Of 6 Probationary Fed Employees

    The Merit Systems Protection Board paused the Trump administration's attempt to fire six federal workers on probationary status, saying the U.S. Office of Special Counsel showed it was likely the firings violated civil service laws that require the government to undertake reductions in force based on merit.

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    Ex-White House Enviro Justice Leader Joins Legal Nonprofit

    An environmental policy official from the Biden White House has joined the nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government to help lead the organization's climate change and environmental justice initiatives.

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    Litigator Paul Clement Called 'Sensible' Pick For Adams Case

    Prolific conservative U.S. Supreme Court litigator Paul D. Clement is a "talented," "wise" and "sensible" selection to look into and potentially argue against the federal government's effort to dismiss the corruption case facing New York Mayor Eric Adams, attorneys who know Clement say.

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    Ballard Spahr Launches AI Tools Led By 'Ask Ellis' Chatbot

    National law firm Ballard Spahr will roll out a custom suite of generative artificial intelligence tools, highlighted by Ask Ellis, a chatbot named after a co-founding attorney of the 140-year-old firm.

  • Solicitor General Pick Says Trump Won't Skirt Court Orders

    President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Solicitor General told senators Wednesday that he saw no "plausible scenario" in which the president would defy a court order despite contrary suggestions from members of his administration, frustrating Democrats during a committee hearing on three U.S. Department of Justice nominees.

  • Justices Open To Nixing Higher Hurdle For Heterosexual Bias

    The U.S. Supreme Court hinted Wednesday that it will find heterosexual bias claims should not be held to a stricter burden of proof when it decides if an Ohio agent discriminated against a worker because she's straight, with Justice Samuel Alito noting "radical agreement" among the parties that the Sixth Circuit held her to a higher standard than other Title VII plaintiffs.

  • DC Judge Extends Order Keeping Special Counsel In Place

    A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to keep the fired head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in the post for another three days while the court deliberates the merits of the federal employment watchdog's claims that President Donald Trump lacks the authority to remove him from office without cause.

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    Bradley Arant Hires SEC Enforcement Trial Atty In DC

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has hired a government investigations partner in Washington, D.C., with more than a decade of experience at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission prosecuting and probing a range of fraud.

  • Adams Says SDNY Memo Leaks Doom His Bribery Case

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams opened up a new line of attack against his federal corruption case Wednesday, arguing that the judge must dismiss the charges due to the "extreme prejudice" caused by leaked Justice Department memos alleging a quid pro quo between the mayor and the Trump administration.

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    4 Tips To Hit Billable Hours Out Of The Park This Year

    Early in the year is the best time to start to think about billable hour targets and strategies for how to meet them, according to partners and attorney career coaches. Here are four strategies those experts say will help associates hit a home run this year.

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    Supreme Court Backs Broad View Of Lawsuit Revival Rule

    Despite fears of "litigation gamesmanship," the U.S. Supreme Court held Wednesday that cases dismissed voluntarily can later be eligible for special judicial relief and reopening, even if a statute of limitations would typically block the lawsuit.

  • Justices Vacate TM Award That Put Co.'s Affiliates On Hook

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday vacated an award that reached nearly $47 million in a trademark dispute that questioned whether affiliates of a real estate development company should be liable for the payment even though they were not defendants in the case.

  • High Court Mulls Bounds Of Supervised Release Sentencing

    Lower court judges have strayed from what Congress says are the only factors that may be considered when sentencing offenders for violating their supervised release, the Supreme Court heard Tuesday, as the justices address a circuit split regarding the purposes of such sentences.

  • Trump Targets Covington Attys For Repping Special Counsel

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the immediate suspension of security clearances held by Covington & Burling LLP attorneys who represent former special counsel Jack Smith, with the president citing the attorneys' supposed roles in the "weaponization of the judicial process."

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    How To Track Trump's Legal Battles

    President Donald Trump has issued a historic number of executive orders and other actions during his first five weeks back in the White House, eliciting more than 80 legal challenges and setting the stage for major courtroom battles over birthright citizenship, presidential power, the federal government's structure and more. Law360 has created a database to keep track of them all.

  • Newman Says Fed. Circ. Doctors Undermine Suspension Case

    Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has said the court's other judges have undermined their claims about why they suspended her, by retaining experts who questioned reports from her own doctors finding her fit to serve as a judge.

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    Meet The FDA's New Chief Counsel Robert Foster

    Announced as the top attorney for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent days, Robert Foster brings a career spanning the government's early COVID-19 pandemic response, biopharmaceutical company leadership and legal oversight matters for the U.S. Senate.

  • High Court Split Over Civil Rights Jury Trials For Prisoners

    The U.S. Supreme Court appeared evenly divided Tuesday over whether the Seventh Amendment guarantees prisoners the right to a jury trial when disputed facts regarding exhaustion of remedies are intertwined with their underlying claims, including allegations of sexual misconduct and retaliation.

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    Justices Limit 'Prevailing Party' Status For Atty Fees

    Litigants will no longer be considered the "prevailing party" — and thus won't be eligible for attorney fees — if they achieve courtroom victories via preliminary injunction instead of a final judgment, the U.S. Supreme Court has found, in a ruling that's expected to be a blow to legal advocacy groups.

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    Federal Judiciary Repeats Request For More Judges

    A federal circuit judge, speaking on behalf of the federal judiciary, repeated on Tuesday the need for more federal judges to alleviate the overwhelmed courts after President Joe Biden vetoed legislation late last year that would have added seats to the bench.

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    Kirkland Regains Top Spot in 2024 Performance Ranking

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP surged back to the top of legal market intelligence provider Leopard Solutions' annual Law Firm Index released on Tuesday with a perfect score for the year, while last year's leader Latham & Watkins LLP slipped to fourth place.

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Expert Analysis

  • For The Future Of Legal Practice, Let's Learn From The Past Author Photo

    At some level, every practicing lawyer is experiencing the ever-increasing speed of change — and while some practice management processes have gotten more efficient, other things about the legal profession were better before supposed improvements were made, says Jay Silberblatt, president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

  • Why All Law Firms Should Foster Psychological Capital Author Photo

    Law firms will be able to reap great long-term benefits if they adopt strategies to nurture four critical components of their employees' psychological wellness and performance — hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism, says Dennis Stolle at the American Psychological Association.

  • A GC's Guide To Litigation, Inspired By Sun Tzu's 'Art Of War' Author Photo

    With caseloads and spending increasing, in-house counsel might find themselves called to opine on the risks and benefits of litigation more often, and they should look at five Sun Tzu maxims from the ancient Chinese classic "The Art of War" to inform their approach to any suit, says Jeff Golimowski at Womble Bond.

  • Mentorship Is Key To Diversity In The Legal Industry Author Photo

    Not only can effective mentorship have a profound impact on women and people of color entering the legal field, but it also benefits mentors and the legal profession as a whole, creating a true win-win situation for all involved, says Natasha Cortes at Grossman Roth.

  • ChatGPT Is A Cool Trick, But AI Won't Replace Lawyers Author Photo

    Generative AI applications like ChatGPT are unlikely to ever replace attorneys for a variety of practical reasons — but given their practice-enhancing capabilities, lawyers who fail to leverage these tools may be rendered obsolete, says Eran Kahana at Maslon.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Valuable In IP And Continued Learning Author Photo

    The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's recent elimination of a rule that partially counted pro bono work toward continuing legal education highlights the importance of volunteer work in intellectual property practice and its ties to CLE, and puts a valuable tool for hands-on attorney education in the hands of the states, say Lisa Holubar and Ariel Katz at Irwin.

  • Increasing Public Access To Legal Services: A Practical Plan Author Photo

    Recommendations recently issued by a special committee of the Florida Bar represent a realistic, pragmatic approach to increasing the accessibility and affordability of legal services, at a time when the disconnect between the legal profession and the public at large has widened considerably, says Gary Lesser, president of the Florida Bar.

  • Priorities For Improving The Legal Industry In Texas Author Photo

    To assist Texas lawyers in effectively executing their duties, we should be working on succession planning, attorney wellness, and increasing understanding of the grievance system by both bar members and the public, says Laura Gibson, president of the State Bar of Texas.

  • Leading Your Law Firm's Creation Of A New Practice Group Author Photo

    Marjorie Peerce and Peter Jaslow at Ballard Spahr discuss the challenges of building a new law firm practice group from the ground up, and how sustained commitment, communication and collaboration are the key ingredients for success.

  • Series

    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Relay Shortcomings To Associates? Author Photo

    Michael Cohen at Duane Morris discusses the best ways to articulate how an associate is not meeting expectations, and why documentation of performance management is crucial for their growth and protecting the firm from discrimination suits.

  • 10 Principles For Effective Partner Reward Systems Author Photo

    Several forces are reshaping partners’ expectations about profit-sharing, and as compensation structures evolve in response, firms should keep certain fundamentals in mind to build a successful partner reward system, say Michael Roch at MHPR Advisors and Ray D'Cruz at Performance Leader.

  • Why Interdisciplinarity Is Key To Designing The Future Of Law Author Photo

    The legal profession faces challenges that urgently demand new solutions, and lawyers and firms can address this by leaning on other industries that have more experience practicing, teaching and incorporating innovation into their core business and service models, says Jennifer Leonard at the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Incorporating ADA Guidance Into Lawyer Wellness Movement Author Photo

    The Americans with Disabilities Act and rules of professional conduct may help the legal profession promote lawyer well-being by focusing on mental conditions' actual impact, rather than on associated stereotypes, says Alex Long at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Can New Partners Generate Business? Author Photo

    Christine Wong at MoFo discusses how newly elected partners can prioritize business development by creating a strategic plan with the firm's marketing team and strengthening relationships with professional and personal networks.

  • 9 Writing Tips From The Justices' Opinions Last Term Author Photo

    Hidden in the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions from the last term are each justice’s talents for crafting choice turns of phrase, highlighting best practices for attorneys to jump-start their own writing, says Ross Guberman at BriefCatch.

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