Bloomberg Law reports on a number of law & covid updates
In today’s column, top U.K. law firms are increasingly relying on a government furlough scheme to reduce drain on their cash during the Covid-19 crisis; as Kirkland out-bills everybody for Covid-related bankruptcy and restructuring work, firms are competing to hire bankruptcy expertise; demand is also hot for data privacy and security lawyers; the D.C. Bar decided to make its next bar exam a pared-down, online-only test given in October, with no refunds possible for people who’d rather not take it in that form; in Wisconsin, a white woman lawyer got arrested for spitting on a black teenager during George Floyd protests.
- Leading off, law firms around the world can expect a surge in Covid-19 fueled litigation work in the next three months or so, according to a survey of 435 senior legal officials, including general counsel, heads of legal, and top executives, across a range of countries and industries. The survey also found that about half of in-house teams have hit pause on M&A transactions since the Covid-19 crisis started. And the most common type of extra work in-house legal departments are getting because of the pandemic is contracts, followed by worklaw. (International Financial Law Review)
- The U.K.’s top 50 law firms are increasingly using the governments’ furlough scheme as a cost-cutting tool as they seek to protect their cash balance from the economic crisis stemming from Covid-19, a report says. (The Lawyer)
- As the pandemic has pushed retailers and other large, public companies into the red, Kirkland & Ellis’ bankruptcy practice is out-billing its rivals for work advising those companies, bringing in nearly $100 million this year. The Chicago-founded firm’s clients include J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, Pier 1 Imports, and Stage Stores, among others. (BLAW)
- DLA Piper advised one of the first U.S. companies pushed into bankruptcy by the pandemic, medical device developer Valeritas Holdings Inc. The company yesterday got a Delaware federal bankruptcy court’s okay for a Chapter 11 exit plan that has the company selling itself for $23 million. Valeritas filed for bankruptcy in February after manufacturing of its wearable insulin delivery device was hampered by Covid-19 shut-downs in China and elsewhere. (Bloomberg Law)
- Meanwhile, bankruptcy and restructuring specialists continue to be among the most coveted lateral hires during the crisis. Yesterday Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison grabbed Latham & Watkins’ restructuring partner Andrew Parlen for its New York office. Parlen joined Latham in 2018 after nearly 12 years at O’Melveny (BLAW)
- In the last week , O’Melveny, Faegre Drinker, and Ropes & Gray, have announced restructuring hires. (American Lawyer)
- The District of Columbia delayed its bar exam again because of Covid-19. It now says the test will be a pared-down, online-only test administered October 5 and 6. (BLAW) As with Indiana and Michigan’s online exams, the scores won’t be transferable. But in DC’s case, the bar is not refunding fees for people who don’t won’t to take the online version, Above The Law says. (Above The Law)
- At the New York State Trial Lawyers Association’s virtual ceremony to swear in new chair Edward Steinberg, Steinberg announced his law firm will sponsor membership dues for up to six months for association members who were financially hit by Covid-19. (New York Law Journal)
Read the full report here
