Sept. 20, 2021
Good morning. With the number of first-year law students up more than 9% nationally, the competition for legal industry jobs will be tough in 2024. Plus, Johnson & Johnson today is set for a showdown over certain reorganization votes proposed by its former talc supplier, and former Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussmann, charged in John Durham’s investigation, is due back in court this week. Lots to dig into, and happy Monday. Let’s jump in!
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REUTERS/Andrew Kelly First-year enrollment is up at most law schools following an admissions cycle that saw the number of applicants jump by nearly 13%, Karen Sloan reports. At least 17 law schools have welcomed first-year classes that are a quarter or more larger than last year.
The American Bar Association won’t release official enrollment data until December, but more than half of accredited law schools have self-reported their new class numbers as of Sept. 17. The total number of 1Ls among those schools is up more than 9% compared to 2020, according to admissions consultant Mike Spivey.
The University of Texas School of Law aimed for an incoming class of 300 and ended up with 419 new students. “For many schools, including us, our projections really did not match what the reality was,” Mathiew Le, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid, told Sloan.
Kyle McEntee, executive director of Law School Transparency, warned that although many programs can accommodate the influx, it’s not clear that the legal job market has room for more fresh JDs.
Industry buzz
Number of the day: 7.5 Al Seib/Pool via REUTERS That's how many hours the nine women and three men of the jury deliberated over three days before finding multimillionaire real estate heir Robert Durst guilty of murdering his best friend Susan Berman in 2000. A sentencing hearing in California state court is set for Oct. 18. Read more about the verdict.
Columnist spotlight: Lawsuit by former Labaton consultant details firm’s big-money recruitment of European clients A French businessman who once received a $6,000-per-month retainer from Labaton Sucharow to hook the firm up with European investment fund officials claims in a new suit that Labaton lied to him about millions of dollars in fees that the firm allegedly received for filing claims in settled securities class actions. He also says he unwittingly participated in a sham referral fee agreement. Labaton vehemently denies there was any such deal. Alison Frankel has the details. Check out other recent pieces from all our columnists: Alison Frankel, Jenna Greene and Hassan Kanu.
Reuters Events: Legal Leaders Webinar
Many companies are implementing a plan for a safe return to the office but remote working is here to stay and companies must embrace the new hybrid workforce model. What does this new model mean for your data management policy and what factors should you take into consideration when crafting a data policy? Join the exclusive Reuters Events: Legal Leaders webinar, Navigating the hybrid working world of the future (Tuesday 21st September at 1 PM EST) to hear insights from Richard Buchband, General Counsel of ManpowerGroup and Scott McVeigh, Industry Principal, Onna.
Video: Legal Lookahead Reuters video journalist Tom Rowe gives you an early view of the week ahead in legal news. Watch the video. For a quick take on what's coming this week, listen to Reuters journalist Alex Cohen’s audio Lookahead.
Coming up today
Court calendars are subject to last-minute docket changes.
Coming up this week
"The majority of this three-judge panel finds the evidence at trial sufficient to show that the enactment of S.B. 824 was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters."
--North Carolina Superior Court Judges Michael O’Foghludha and Vince Rozier Jr striking down North Carolina voter ID law S.B. 824 as unlawfully enacted with discriminatory intent. Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Poovey wrote a dissent that said “not one scintilla of evidence was introduced during this trial that any legislator acted with racially discriminatory intent.” Read more about the ruling.
In the courts
Industry moves
The fear that can grip an appellate lawyer comes from many places and in many forms. And the biggest fear of all might be leaving something on the table--an issue, an authority or maybe a fact, writes appellate advocate Bennett Cooper, a Dickinson Wright member. Rest assured, there is an antidote. Read more about fear, and why appellate lawyers should take a deep breath.
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