DC Pulse


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    Associate Rates Hit $2,500 Per Hour, Outpacing Partner Hikes

    The ceiling on law firm associate billing rates is approaching $2,500 per hour, increasing at a faster pace than partner rates, particularly at the industry's largest law firms, according to a report released Monday by LexisNexis' CounselLink.

  • Justices Let FCC's New Campaign Ad Rates Take Effect

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for the Federal Communications Commission to extend discounted television and radio advertising rates previously reserved for political candidates to political parties and joint fundraising committees that buy spots in coordination with candidates.

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    Motley Rice Founder Remembered As Titan Of Mass Tort Bar

    Motley Rice LLC co-founder Joseph F. Rice, who died Thursday, was remembered by former colleagues and friends as a "transformational" attorney and "giant in the civil litigation bar" who spent decades working on some of the most high-profile mass torts and obtaining landmark asbestos, opioid and tobacco settlements.

  • Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Morgan Verkamp LLC and Sparacino PLLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Eleventh Circuit held that the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions do not violate the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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    DC Panel's Rare Rebuke Over AI Errors Flags Rules Gap

    A D.C. appellate court panel issued a rare sua sponte sanctions order on Thursday after finding nonexistent case citations in a brief filed by a McCabe Weisberg & Conway LLC attorney representing Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. in a foreclosure action, noting an apparent gap in the rules governing the court's sanctions authority.

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    Brownstein Hires DHS Office Leader For Public Affairs Team

    Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP has hired away the assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Partnership and Engagement as director, public affairs, in Washington, the firm said Thursday.

  • Dems Ask Justices To Deny Stay In Campaign Ad Pricing Case

    A group of Democratic candidates have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a stay of a Fourth Circuit order blocking the Federal Communications Commission from extending discounted television and radio advertising rates to committees that buy spots in coordination with political candidates.

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    Legal Sector Hiring Grows For 5th Month, But At Slower Pace

    The legal sector saw 600 more jobs in August, growing for the fifth consecutive month, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

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    GC Stock Sales In August: Amphenol, Merck And More

    The general counsel of Amphenol made one of the biggest stock sales of August by a legal chief, pulling in $16 million. Also high on the list were the general counsel of Merck with $10.7 million, along with the top lawyer of online travel helper Booking Holdings, with $10.39 million.

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    Miles & Stockbridge Adds Gov't Contracts Partner In DC

    Miles & Stockbridge PC has hired a former McCarter & English LLP government contracts partner in its Washington, D.C., office, where she'll work on bid protests, claim litigation and other government contract procurement issues.

  • Beltway Moves: Goodwin, Proskauer, Paul Weiss

    Washington, D.C., firms have been snapping up appellate and antitrust lawyers in some of the latest legal hiring in the nation's capital.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry kicked off September with a busy week of attorney moves and law firm real estate trends. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse's weekly quiz.

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    Quinn Emanuel, McDermott Hit By Data Breaches

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and McDermott Will & Schulte LLP both recently suffered data breaches, adding to the dozens of cybersecurity incidents law firms in the U.S. have suffered in 2026.

  • Ex-Pardon Atty Says DOJ Fired Her Over Actor's Gun Rights

    Former U.S. pardon attorney Liz Oyer sued the U.S. Department of Justice Thursday in Washington, D.C., federal court, alleging the department unlawfully fired her for not recommending Mel Gibson get his gun rights back — a request she said was based on the actor's relationship with President Donald Trump.

  • Leon Black Says 'Intrusive' Epstein Subpoenas Are Invalid

    Rather than appear for a deposition about his connection to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black sued the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its chairman in Washington, D.C., federal court Thursday, saying subpoenas seeking private nondisclosure agreements exceed the committee's authority.

  • Kavanaugh Stays Out Of Mich. Voter ID Referendum Row

    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined Thursday to wade into a dispute over Michigan election officials' refusal to put on ballots this November a proposed amendment to the state's constitution that would require voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to participate in state and local elections.

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    Federal Judge Warns Threats Imperil Judicial Independence

    U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida told Law360 that judges and members of the bar need to educate the public on the judiciary's important role in American democracy to combat increasing threats, speaking following the release of two reports this week that warn of safety concerns for judges and that defiance of court orders is undermining the federal judiciary's independence.

  • Pirro Urges House Ethics Panel To Refer Crime Claims To DOJ

    U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has told the House Ethics Committee that as cases involving criminal misconduct come before it, her office should be involved too.

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    SolaREIT Names New GC, Transaction Counsel

    Renewable energy real estate investment company SolaREIT has hired Marisa McCurdy as its new general counsel and Daniel Leppert as its new transaction counsel, the company announced.

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    Jenner & Block Adds Crowell Energy Partner To DC Office

    Jenner & Block LLP said Thursday it has hired the former co-leader of Crowell & Moring LLP's appellate practice, who worked on a range of energy matters there and spent over a decade of her career as a senior attorney with the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

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    Squire Patton Boggs Hires Ex-DOJ Nat'l Security Deputy Chief

    Squire Patton Boggs announced Thursday it has hired a former Department of Justice leader, who spent more than 16 years in public service roles and joined the firm as an international trade and foreign investment practice partner in Washington, D.C.

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    Boutique Firms Emerge As Trump Admin's 'Achilles' Heel'

    Less fearful of retribution than some of their BigLaw counterparts, small law firms are taking on an outsize role handling cases seen as adversarial to the Trump administration.

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    How A Partner-Only Law Firm Uses AI To Replace Associates

    Lawyers Michael Pierson and Joel M. Ferdinand asked a simple question when they decided to launch their own firm: What would the elite law firm of the future look like?

  • House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

    The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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    Proskauer Hires Goodwin Procter's Supreme Court Co-Head

    Proskauer Rose LLP has added the former co-head of Goodwin Procter LLP's Supreme Court practice as the co-head of its compensation and benefits litigation practice, the firm announced Wednesday.

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Expert Analysis

  • How Firms Can Effectively Evaluate Their Summer Associates Author Photo

    One of the most effective ways firms can ensure their summer associate programs are a success is by engaging in a timely and meaningful evaluation process and being intentional about when, how and by whom feedback should be provided, say Caroline Cimei and Erica Fine at Shutts & Bowen.

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    Talking Mental Health: Life As A Lawyer With OCD Author Photo

    Kelly Hughes at Ogletree discusses what she’s learned in the 14 years since she was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, recounting how the experience shaped her law practice, what the legal industry and general public get wrong about the disorder, and how law firms can better support employees who have OCD.

  • 3 Innovative Ways AI May Be Used In Legal Practice
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly be used by outside counsel to better predict the outcomes of litigation — thus informing legal strategy with greater precision — and by clients to scrutinize invoices and evaluate counsel’s performance, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Librarian Author Photo

    Lisa A. Goodman at Texas A&M University shares how she went from a BigLaw associate who liked to hang out in the firm's law library to director of a law library herself in just over a decade, and provides considerations for anyone interested in pursuing a law librarian career.

  • Legal Briefs Can Benefit From Cleaned Up Case Citations Author Photo

    Federal courts have recently been changing the way they quote decisions to omit insignificant details and string cites, and lawyers should consider adopting this practice to enhance the readability of their briefs — as long as accuracy stays top of mind, says Diana Simon at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

  • 5 Best Practices For Firms Designing DEI Programs Author Photo

    Nikki Lewis Simon, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Greenberg Traurig, discusses best practices — and some pitfalls to avoid — for law firms looking to build programs aimed at driving inclusion in the workplace.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs Author Photo

    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Juggle Billables And Other Activities? Author Photo

    While involvement in internal firm initiatives can be rewarding both personally and professionally, associates' billable time requirements don’t leave much room for other work, meaning they must develop strategies to ensure they’re meeting all of their commitments while remaining balanced, says Melanie Webber at Fisher Phillips.

  • Making Legal Cents: How To Adapt As Clients Tighten Budgets Author Photo

    Amid a dip in corporate legal spending and client pushback on bills, Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants highlights specific in-house counsel frustrations and explains how firms can provide customized legal advice with costs that are supported by undeniable value.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents Author Photo

    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • General Counsel And Legal Ops Must Work Together Author Photo

    It is critical for general counsel to ensure that a legal operations leader is viewed not only as a peer, but as a strategic leader for the organization, and there are several actionable ways general counsel can not only become more involved, but help champion legal operations teams and set them up for success, says Mary O'Carroll at Ironclad.

  • How Generative AI's Growing Memory Affects Lawyers Author Photo

    A new ChatGPT feature that can remember user information across different conversations has broad implications for attorneys, whose most pressing questions for the AI tool are usually based on specific, and large, datasets, says legal tech adviser Eric Wall.

  • A Model For Optimal Legal Tech Investment Strategy Author Photo

    Legal organizations struggling to work out the right technology investment strategy may benefit from using a matrix for legal department efficiency that is based on an understanding of where workloads belong, according to the basic functions and priorities of a corporate legal team, says Sylvain Magdinier at Integreon.

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    My Nonpracticing Law Job: Recruiter Author Photo

    Self-proclaimed "Lawyer Doula" Danielle Thompson at Major Lindsey shares how she went from Columbia Law School graduate and BigLaw employment associate to a career in legal recruiting — and discovered a passion for advocacy along the way.

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    Ask A Mentor: How Do I Balance Social Activism With My Job? Author Photo

    Corporate attorneys pursuing social justice causes outside of work should consider eight guidelines for finding equilibrium between their beliefs and their professional duties and reputation, say Diedrick Graham, Debra Friedman and Simeon Brier at Cozen O'Connor.

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