BUSINESS OF LAW - Not all law firm mergers go the distance after they’re announced, but the Troutman Pepper-Locke Lord combination appears on track to do just that, Amanda O’Brien and Brenda Sapino Jeffreys report. That would give the market a new Am Law 50 firm with more than 1,600 attorneys and a combined revenue north of $1.5 billion–no small change, given the climate of consolidation and competition in the industry.
LEGAL TECH - Minnesota is the sixth state to pass its own data privacy act this year. While the Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act won’t likely take many organizations by surprise when it goes into effect on July 31, 2025 as long as they’ve been paying attention since the passage of the CCPA, there are some small nuances worth noting to ensure compliance, Isha Marathe reports.
LITIGATION - Attorneys will be able to make filings confidential without sign-off from a jurist at the Delaware Court of Chancery after recent rule changes. Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster called the new rule “a big shift” and reflects that the court is trusting the bar not to abuse it, Ellen Bardash reports.
REGIONAL - The New Jersey Law Journal has published its annual New Jersey Top 40, which tracks the growth of the state’s largest firms, writes Max Mitchell. Despite court backlogs and diminished ranks, New Jersey litigation remained very active throughout 2023, and firms that were able to capitalize on growing areas saw measured growth from last year. Additionally, midsize firms were more willing to raise their rates, and the market reaction has been very positive, according to law firm leaders.
CORPORATE - Dollar General’s beleaguered legal team has lost another battle with regulators, less than a week after agreeing to pay $12 million to resolve safety violations and make improvements at its 20,000 discount stores, Chris O’Malley reports.
INTERNATIONAL - The international ambitions of Spain’s Pérez-Llorca have led the firm to Mexico, the fourth-largest economy in the Americas and a challenging legal market to penetrate, Amy Guthrie reports. The firm hopes that what will set it apart in Mexico is its mode of entry—a combination, just completed, with one of the country’s largest domestic law firms—González Calvillo. And as more Spanish law firms view the Mexico market as one brimming with opportunity, they, too, are expected to seek out merger partners in the country. In fact, Alex D’Elia reports that Spanish firm Garrigues announced Wednesday that it plans to form a tie-up with Mexico’s Sánchez Devanny.
