In a significant trend observed this year, large law firms have been expanding their office spaces. Office expansions accounted for almost 43% of law firm leasing activities through the first nine months of this year, a notable rise from the earlier figure of 29% last year, reports Savills Plc.
Davis Polk, a prominent example of this growing trend, has reportedly expanded its Manhattan office space by an impressive 710,000 square feet. But while it’s not all smooth scaling up and expansion for everyone in the legal profession.
In other developments, a number of recently qualified lawyers have been dismissed from their firms in California and Colorado, following their reliance on ChatGPT for producing unsatisfactory legal documents. As the Washington Post reports, this flags the potential pitfalls of using nascent technologies in the performance of legal tasks.
Meanwhile, according to Fox News, the law firm Sher Edling, which has been leading novel climate change litigation against the oil and gas industry, has received at least $2.5 million in grants from advocacy group New Venture Fund.
In collegiate sports, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has hired leading law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth to challenge the NCAA’s refusal to certify James Madison University’s football team for full bowl eligibility. The Athletic provides insightful coverage of this story.
In regards to recent legal appointments and transfers, notable moves include Gary Locke joining Dorsey & Whitney as a senior advisor, Kevin Rubino returning to Sidley Austin as a partner in San Francisco, Saadia Ghazi joining Seyfarth Shaw in New York, Lucy F. Kweskin becoming a partner in Katten Muchin Rosenman’s insolvency and restructuring practice, Nikole K. Zoumberakis starting as a corporate partner in Los Angeles with Munger Tolles & Olson, Giselle Joffre joining Arnold & Porter in Boston, Mass, and the launch of FROST LLP by Christopher Frost in Los Angeles, Calif.