DC Pulse


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    Cahill Gordon Offers Associates 'Super Bonus' Of Up To $200K

    Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP won't just match BigLaw's prevailing scale for year-end bonuses — the firm will also reportedly offer outsized special bonuses, or super bonuses, up to $200,000 for high-performing associates.

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    2025 DC Partner Market Driven By Appeals Spike, Gov't Moves

    The number of partner moves within the Washington, D.C., litigation market continued to grow this year, driven by factors including increased demand for appellate lawyers and a steady flow of government attorneys leaving for private practice, according a report released Thursday.

  • Democracy Forward Announces New Leadership Hires

    Democracy Forward, a progressive nonprofit that has lodged some 85 actions against the Trump administration, announced Thursday it hired new staff, including a new deputy managing attorney and a new director of a collaborative initiative focused on reshaping the federal government with community-driven policies and public servants.

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    Foreign Investment Office Leader Joins DLA Piper In DC

    The former leader of a Commerce Department office that does national security reviews of foreign investments, and who has more than a decade of working in senior roles in government, has joined DLA Piper LLP's Washington office as a partner, the firm announced Wednesday.

  • Blank Rome's 2026 Partnership Class Is Biggest In 7 Years

    Blank Rome LLP will elevate 14 attorneys to partner in the new year, its highest partnership class in seven years.

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    Appeal Of US Atty Invalidations May Be 'Devastating' To DOJ

    As the list of interim and acting U.S. attorneys found to be unlawfully appointed under President Donald Trump grows, so too does the pressure on his administration to make the next move, which could force a risky strategic decision on whether to push the issue up to the U.S. Supreme Court, experts said.

  • Law Firm Real Estate Report

    The East Coast logged plenty of law firm real estate activity in November, as several firms, including Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC and Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC, moved into new offices in New Jersey, New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

  • Street Preacher Goes Up Against Heck At High Court

    U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday heard arguments over whether a street preacher convicted of a Mississippi state crime can use a federal civil rights lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the law used to convict him.

  • Trump Would Prefer Jack Smith Testify In Public

    Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed former counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday for a closed-door deposition, to which President Donald Trump said he would rather see a public testimony.

  • Troutman Atty Is 3rd NC Federal Judge Confirmed This Week

    The Senate voted 57-41 on Wednesday to confirm Matthew Orso, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, to the Western District of North Carolina as a federal district judge.

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    Virginia Bar Declines To Investigate Interim US Atty Halligan

    The Virginia State Bar has declined to investigate whether Lindsey Halligan should face discipline over her scandal-plagued tenure as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, just days after a federal judge ruled she was not properly appointed to that post.

  • OCC Taps Ex-DC Civil Division Head As Deputy Chief Counsel

    The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Wednesday that it has hired a longtime litigator with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia to be a senior official in the banking agency's legal department.

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    ABA Urges Attys To Guard Confidentiality In Withdraw Motions

    The American Bar Association on Wednesday advised attorneys that they must leave information about their representation of a client out of any motions they file to withdraw as their counsel unless they have an explicit exception to existing confidentiality rules or the client's consent.

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    Wiley Adds Another Federal Atty In DC, This Time From DOJ

    A U.S. Department of Justice attorney who was staffed on one of the agency's high-profile monopolization cases against Google, has joined Wiley Rein LLP as a partner, the firm announced Wednesday.

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    Wilson Sonsini To Switch Leaders For 1st Time Since 2012

    Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC announced plans for its first top leadership transition in more than a decade on Wednesday, tapping a Palo Alto, California-based litigator and a New York-based corporate lawyer to begin co-leading the firm at the start of next August.

  • Former Gov't Workers Challenge Trump's DEI Firing Spree

    The Trump administration unlawfully targeted perceived political enemies, women and people of color when it fired all federal employees who served in roles related to diversity, equity and inclusion, former government workers said Wednesday in a proposed class action.

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    High Billers At McKool Smith To Pocket Extra Bonus Money

    McKool Smith is the latest BigLaw firm to announce extra cash for attorneys who went above and beyond with billable hours in 2025, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360 Pulse.

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    Fed. Circ. Pushes DC Circ. Not To Rethink Newman Decision

    The Federal Circuit has urged the D.C. Circuit to ignore Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's request to rehear a decision upholding the dismissal of her suit against the colleagues who suspended her, saying the judiciary has the right to police its own internal matters.

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    Cooley Names Largest Partner Class In 4 Years With 23 Attys

    Cooley LLP will add 23 lawyers to the firm's partnership when the new year starts, up slightly from the number of new partners added last year.

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    Fed. Judges' Public Spat With Justices May Undermine Courts

    Public criticism being traded back and forth in recent months between U.S. Supreme Court justices and lower-court federal judges over the justices' emergency orders is highly unusual in itself, but it also raises the risk of eroding public trust in the judiciary.

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    The Top In-House Hires Of November

    Elon Musk's xAI has a new but familiar general counsel, while several sports groups — including the New York Mets, PGA of America and the SEC college athletic conference — also brought on new legal leaders in November.

  • Justices Skeptical Of NJ Subpoena For Anti-Abortion Donors

    Several U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic Tuesday to an anti-abortion pregnancy-center network's bid to challenge a subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general, pressing the state on whether its demand for donor identities and internal documents risked unconstitutionally chilling First Amendment associational rights.

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    Sheppard Mullin To Offer Larger Bonuses To Busy Associates

    Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP associates who labored past 2,000 hours in 2025 can expect to see a little extra in their upcoming bonus checks, according to an internal memo obtained by Law360.

  • 2 New Judges Confirmed To NC Federal Court

    The U.S. Senate confirmed two federal judges for North Carolina on Tuesday.

  • House Oversight's Top Investigative Counsel Joins DLA Piper

    An attorney who in the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives led oversight committee investigations into former President Joe Biden's alleged mental decline has joined DLA Piper's government affairs and public policy practice in Washington, D.C.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 New Archetypes Of Legal Talent For The Age Of AI Author Photo

    New job archetypes are rapidly replacing the traditional model of the lawyer as artificial intelligence proliferates, and to remain competitive, firms will need to embrace the diverse portfolio of talent required to navigate, design and critique algorithmic systems, says Dmitri Mehlhorn at Atoll Society.

  • A Closer Look At 5 Types Of Legal Management Services Orgs Author Photo

    Legal management services organizations, which outsource the administrative aspects of law firms to separate entities, are poised to disrupt the industry in the year to come, so firms and attorneys should consider the advantages and disadvantages of several MSO models, say Frederick Shelton and Ayven Dodd at Shelton & Steele.

  • Law And Disorder: How To Tackle A Key Burnout Syndrome Author Photo

    Impostor syndrome prevails as a main root cause of attorney burnout, but sufferers can equip themselves with a series of practice tips that build confidence through evidence, not emotion, to address the mindset behind this damaging condition, says Jonathan Cohen at PNY.

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Ways To Build Client Relationships Author Photo

    Today's general counsel expect outside lawyers to show interest, relevance and value long before there is a live matter to address, including by engaging with attorneys at every level of the company and dispensing free advice thoughtfully, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Start Early In Your Career Author Photo

    Having the courage to embark on your legal business development strategy early in your career allows you to sooner reap the rewards of a strong network, which in turn can increase the momentum of referrals over the course of your career, says Kristin Housh at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Enthusiasm Is Legal Leadership Differentiator In AI Era Author Photo

    As the legal profession navigates changes driven by artificial intelligence and broader pressures, leaders should consider behavioral research-backed strategies to translate enthusiasm into tangible results for team performance, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Weighing Opportunities, Risks Of PE Investment In Law Firms Author Photo

    Though law firms and private equity firms appear to be strange bedfellows, such combinations may offer opportunities for ailing midsize firms — which must be weighed against risks to culture, brand and growth prospects, say directors at FTI Consulting.

  • 3 Forces Reshaping The Legal Buyer-Seller Relationship Author Photo

    This year's Buying Legal Council Conference highlighted three emerging forces in how buyers and sellers operate in the legal ecosystem — artificial intelligence, data and preferred panels — and organizations would be well advised to combine them into an integrated framework for transparency, performance and collaboration, says Matthew Prinn at RFP Advisory Group.

  • 5 Steps For GCs To Drive Generative AI Experimentation Author Photo

    As legal departments face mounting pressure to do more with less, general counsel should lead a structured process for adopting generative artificial intelligence tools to transform productivity, manage risk and align with enterprise priorities, says Maesea McCalpin at Gartner.

  • How Attys Can DIY Their Own System For Professional Growth Author Photo

    Amid law firm layoffs of business development staff, lawyers cannot depend solely on their firms to foster their professional growth, and must instead create their own initiatives for building community, says Lana Manganiello at Practice Growth Partner.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: In-House, Outside Counsel AI Collabs Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence changes the dynamic between in-house and outside counsel, both internal and external legal teams must thoughtfully reimagine how to mutually leverage AI tools to collaborate and deliver successful outcomes, say Karineh Khachatourian at KXT Law and Diane Honda at Redis.

  • Ask A Mentor: How Do I Adjust To In-House After BigLaw? Author Photo

    Sirisha Gummaregula at QuisLex offers advice on navigating the challenges that come with taking on an in-house counsel role after leaving law firm life, including learning your company's business goals and leading with empathy and collaboration.

  • Adapting Legal Thought Leadership To An AI World Author Photo

    As potential clients with legal questions increasingly rely on summaries generated by artificial intelligence, attorneys must rethink their content strategy to make sure AI chatbots and search overviews cite their thought leadership, say Ioana Good and Adrien Maines at Promova and Nancy Myrland at Myrland Marketing.

  • 10 Practical Tips For Attorneys Navigating High-Profile Cases Author Photo

    Complex corporate litigation now often unfolds under the glare of a parallel trial in the court of public opinion, requiring attorneys to adopt a cohesive strategy for legal filings, leadership communications and narrative control, says Monica Smith at Integer PR.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Tailor Your Personal Style Author Photo

    In an industry where competition for clients is fierce, a thoughtful approach to personal style can give you the confidence to walk into any room and own it, the magnetism to make connections that matter, and the tools to highlight your deeper professional values, says Leslie Berkoff at Moritt Hock.

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