Big Four Ambitions, Economic Uncertainty, Name Game: The Morning Minute

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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

BIG FOUR BUTTING IN - Just how worried should global law firms be about The Big Four accounting firms’ push into the legal market? Reporter Dan Packel breaks it down with ALM Legal Intelligence Analyst Nicholas Bruch in this week’s Legal Speak podcast. One major advantage the Big Four enjoy over many law firms is global brand recognition. While the Big Four have traditionally offered advice on tax matters, they’re now helping clients navigate regulatory issues and labor and employment matters. They’re even taking on some corporate and M&A work, as well as dipping their toes into legal tech ventures. The takeaway? Ignore the Big Four at your own peril.

TOO GOOD TO LAST - Report after report details how law firms are making money hand over fist in 2018, with revenues at their highest in a decade. But the larger economic signs are more ominous, with many experts predicting a recession, reports Dan Packel. A closer read of the law firm data shows increasing segmentation of the marketplace, with greater distance between the “have” and “have not” firms,” say those who study the legal industry. Some firms are heeding those larger economic signs and taking a cautious approach to 2019, despite this year’s strong performance.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? - A law firm rebranding is no small undertaking, reports David Gialanella. First, there is the effort to get all decision makers on board with the idea that a new name or brand is necessary. Then there’s the process of determining what, exactly, that new name, brand, and logo should be. Those talks can get bogged down by egos, differing concepts of the firm’s image and ambitions, and heated disagreements over ampersands, according to rebranding experts who work with law firms. But law firms say the effort that goes into rebranding pays off with a clearer identify that resonates with clients.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Alex Kozinski Returns to the 9th Circuit (as a Lawyer)

By Ross Todd

Lawyer Identified as Attacker in New York Subway Incident

By Scott Flaherty

DC Circuit Secrecy Keeps Apparent Mueller Grand Jury Fight Under Wraps

By Ellis Kim and C. Ryan Barber

Law Schools See First Real Enrollment Gains Since 2010

By Karen Sloan

11th Circuit Rejects CNN Effort to Dismiss $30M Libel Claim

By R. Robin McDonald

Gibson Dunn Fee Petition Puts New Focus on DOJ Switched Position in SCOTUS

By Marcia Coyle

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

TECH INVESTMENTS - Both Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins are betting on what has been dubbed “the app store for legal tech,” John Kang reports. Each invested undisclosed amounts in Reynan Court, which aims to create a single online platform from which law firms can procure, deploy and manage third-party legal apps. Chief information officers from both firms have also joined the startup’s board of directors. Reynan Court has already won the backing of a dozen elite U.S. and U.K. firms.

WHAT YOU SAID

“I have a sense that we are in a cultural moment where women are feeling very fed up. We’re fed up with things that are happening on so many fronts, but particularly fed up with the ways in which… our rights have been overlooked.”

— KATHERINE KEMPEL, AN ATTORNEY WITH KK ADVISING, WHO HAS REPRESENTED WOMEN IN DISCRIMINATION CASES AGAINST LAW FIRMS.