Law And More

Apollo Continues Pivot into Sustainability - Focus on Transition to Non-Fossil Sources of Energy and Game Theory

Recently, Apollo Global Management had announced it was creating the function of Chief Sustainability Officer.

The mission has been to review all investments in terms of its compliance with ESG criteria for Environment, Social and Governance principles. This Law and More article analyses the rewards and risks of that move.

On Friday, October 22nd, the financial giant expanded its reach and branding in sustainability. As it details in its press release it has bet big money on the energy transition to non-fossil sources. Here is the financialese:

"Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that funds managed by its affiliates (the “Apollo Funds”) have agreed to invest $824 million in a convertible equity portfolio financing agreement with NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) in a 2.5 GW renewable energy generation portfolio (the “Portfolio”). The Apollo Funds committed to the investment as part of the sale of 50% of the Portfolio from NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) to NextEra Energy Partners."

That portfolio contains 13 utility-scale wind and solar assets. Of those, three facilitate battery storage. 

The transaction had been handled by law firms Allen & Overy and Paul Weiss. 

What does this mean?

Well. to begin with, it's a kind of what's called "virtue signaling." That is, the message is: We are on the right side of global values. Salvation for mankind entails the battery's replacing gasoline.

In addition, Apollo is leveraging its influence to confirm the importance of energy transition. That includes how investors should make their choices. Yes, investors, non-fossil fuels are the horse to bet on.

And, Apollo is positioning and packaging itself as being in the front lines of a business philosophy that goes by the umbrella term "ESG." Apollo publishes an annual report "The Apollo ESG Effect." Here you can read it. 

The stars are aligned that Apollo will impact the energy sector in a major way.

In the global corridors of influence what moves the dial on getting things done are the connections among the movers and shakers. Journalist Hedrick Smith explained those dynamics in his book "The Power Game."

It is interesting to note in Apollo's journey toward being the player in sustainability its long-time legal counsel has been law firm Paul Weiss. Yes, that firm oversaw this most recent transaction. 

The Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp has been a first-mover in the law firm sector's embrace of ESG values. For example, it established the first ESG practice.

Also, on personal level, Karp has mobilized collective action throughout law firms to support causes associated with ESG values. They include push-back against suppression of voters' rights. Those initiatives reinforced Paul Weiss' presence for being a force field in social justice. That fits nicely where Apollo is heading. 

It also can be useful to observe that Apollo's actions may be based on a version of game theory. The genius John Nash brought the erudite discipline mainstream. Recently I have created material for a client on the implications of game theory for the crypto market. 

Essentially, game theory strategy is about optimizing outcomes through ensuring cooperation among those in the loop. That seems to be underlying how Apollo is going about sustainability. The self-interest of all the players is brilliantly locked in. 

Game theory is becoming an increasingly useful lens for assessing investing initiatives. Meanwhile, green is good. It's in the public interest. 

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Paul Hastings' Seth Zachary Reflects on Changing Law Firm Sector - Part of That Had Been Shinyung Oh's Email

On Reuters Legal, Paul Hastings Chair Seth Zachary chronicles how much the law-firm sector has changed. Essentially, it's mutated from a profession to a hard-nose business. 

But also during Zachary's 22-year tenure had been another kind of shift. That was that associates found their voice. At least a little bit. Before that they were essentially silent about everything. Fear of being blackballed shaped behavior. The law firm niche had been very old-line. 

In 2007, over at Sullivan & Cromwell, associate Aaron Charney sued over alleged discrimination about sexual orientation. But, if we buy into New York Magazine's take about what drove the lawsuit was disrespect by partners. There was a settlement. Charney went on to another good law firm job. 

At Paul Hastings in 2008, it was the email by fired Shinyung Oh which expanded that push back on total powerlessness. Not long after her miscarriage she was terminated. Before that allegedly she had been told she was in good shape in terms of her employment. She interpreted the firing as a stealth layoff, that is, the law firm was getting jittery about financials. 

So instead of ducking out of the law firm with her tail between her legs, she transmitted an email throughout Paul Hastings explaining how she interpreted what had gone down. Her mission was to liberate other associates who had been put through the same thing from the shame. 

Like most termintated or simply unhappy lawyers, Shinyung Oh had a rough time reinventing herself in another career. Currently, according to her LinkedIn profile, she is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in Solana Beach, California.

Today the associate voice is being expressed through doing a lateral. On Bloomberg Law, Roy Strom confirms that the expected attrition is happening.

In addition, anonymous leaking to media outlets such as Abovethelaw has become standard.

In his Reuters interview Zachery also notes that the organization is less top-down. Young talent is being nurtured. After all they are the future of a business which has to keep in sync with technology, clients demands, and extreme poaching. 

As law firms struggle to settle into the return to the office the voice of associates could be raised in unexpected ways. That is what to observe. 

Feedspot selected Law and More as one of The Top 100 Legal Blogs.

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Kirkland & Ellis, et al. - November Is the Cruellest Month of All and More about The Office

COVID is easing.

Like a growing number of law firms, Kirkland & Ellis announced a date for the formal reopening of the office. That is November 8th.

Those entering the office will either have to be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID testing. Note, Kirkland & Ellis isn't mandating the jabs. At least, not at the present time.

For lawyers who found calm and maybe some work/life balance operating remotely, November could prove to be the cruellest month of all.

The transition to the pressure-cooker of the Big Law office - an arena of fierce competition - could be brutal. So much so that after a few weeks or even a few days they can make concrete plans about exiting. There are options. Some other law firms have truly flexible arrangements. Also there are more virtual ones like Rimon Law. There is also establishing a solo office or boutique.

In almost belly-laugh fashion, Kirkland & Ellis notes that back at the ranch there will be free eats. Those include breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Also a concierge service will run errands like dropping off the dry-cleaning.

This gesture calls to mind the satiric blog post on Jeremy Blackman's "Anonymous Lawyer." In it a partner, totally full of himself, announced that hot chocolate would be served in the law firm kitchen during certain hours, as long as the cold weather persists. Yeah, and many of the associates had already pulled an all-nighter.

Legal media, ranging from RollonFriday to Abovethelaw, which cultivates relationships with inside tipsters, are bound to get plenty of dirt from the get-go as associates reenter office life. 

The challenges of trying to get work done in the formal office setting are not unique to law firms.

That's why the tone and content of that former series "The Office" resonated. The distractions range from gossip to drama. No one, not even the brass, is insulated. That's why everyone watches everyone else watching everyone else. 

At the end of the 1980s, the technology of the PC and a year's severance from a major consumer food corporation allowed me to rehome my career outside a formal office. 

In the small digs of the New York Metro area I set up my startup near the kitchen sink.

I had to climb over the bed to get to my files (paper never went away, did it). 

I often tripped over the extra phone line for the fax machine. 

Within seven months, I was grossing 30% more than my previous corporate base salary. Yes, lawyers you can hang out a shingle or join together to establish a boutique.

Success depends about 70% on marketing. I had lectured about that at the New York State Bar Association.

Another 20%, including for a job search, is confidence. During the past seven months, as I repositioned and repackaged my communications/coaching boutiques, I got help from an unexpected source. 

That had come from Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp. That mortal turned out be a superhero on that front. Yeah, for a legal-sector roast celebrating his innovations (especially redefining the business of a law firm) those in the loop should create an action-figure comic book about his life and career.

Also, Karp supported my thinking and writing in blogging. This week Feedspot selected Law and More as among The Top 100 Legal Blogs. 

The other 10% is luck.

Meanwhile, for a growing number of lawyers, it's hiho hiho, off to the office they go ... But, maybe not for long.

Envision work on your own terms w/o a downsizing of income.

Now my home office is next to a fireplace.

Because of a very good year I am researching interesting holiday gifts for clients.

My only angst is not tripping over the cat. 

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Allbirds - Unbundling the "Virtue Signaling" from the Business of Business

It's cynical, of course.

Some have dubbed those ESG (Environmental Social Governance) initiatives the play-out of "virtue signaling."

And, perhaps already overdue, the cynics have moved in to scrutinize the actual business prospects of Allbirds. That startup has become the symbol for sustainability in business.

At Insider, Karen Ho reports on what is turning up about Allbirds. 

A Certified Public Benefit Corporation (B Corporation) Allbirds has approached its IPO in a way that the virtue signals can't be missed. It is conducting that within the framework of a Sustainable Public Equity Offering. It even has contracted with a consultant to establish and monitor the metrics. Of course, given that the ESG ethos is so embedded currently, the way Allbirds has positioned its sustainability mission is receiving plenty of attention. That could shift negative.

Even within the sustainability box itself, trouble has been spotted. For instance, critics are pointing out that Allbirds uses final production facilities where there are notorious labor abuses: Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. Yes, that supply chain issue shouldn't exist, right. Not in a business which insists it's in sync with ESG.

Also, money talks and it's making a harsh statement about Allbirds' financial performance. Although there has been growth in sales, there has been a surge in its loss. In 2019, that had been $193.7 million. For 2020, it had been $219.3 million. That's a lot for a relatively small enterprise.

Another concern is: How much growth - and a business is about growth - can be accomplished in a sustainable manner? After all, this is new territory. If growth isn't possible in a sustainable manner, Allbirds' virtue platform becomes wobbly.

The matter of growth also brings up the reality of consumer attitudes and preferences. Usually shoppers will factor in ESG issues to a point. Then after that they are more focused on if the products fit their needs better than those of the competition, at the right price. It's cartoonish to assume that consumption will be totally based on virtue metrics. Mankind is an economic animal.

And, what about shareholders? The Allbirds' board of directors has been authorized to balance shareholder return on investment with the requirements of other stakeholders ranging from employees to planet earth. But, come on, shareholders are not in this for sainthood. Soon enough they could begin to balk about how sustainability measures could be impeding the success of the enterprise and their piece of the action.  

When it comes to this kind of hard-nosed questioning of ESG, Allbirds is a canary in the mine. 

Meanwhile, the pressure on all businesses from the ESG force field has become more and more intense.

Not only are they expected to develop a list and be checking it twice where they have been naughty about these values and where they have been nice.

In addition, they will be forced to disclose what is mere public relations or protective coloring and what is operational and governance reality. Pile onto that shareholders who become enraged about everything from their disappointing ROI to what appears as inept business management by the sustainabilty leaders.

A sign of these times in which there is so much upheaval about What is the Purpose of the Corporation is this: Law firms, documents Law.com, have been developing stand-alone ESG practices or integrating those services into existing ones. It is obvious that business needs guidance on this one - legal, political, branding, and in terms of the stock price. No, this isn't an extension of the old-line corporate social responsibity. It's a genuine disruption.

A useful model to review on how ESG practices can provide multi-dimensional assistance to clients is that of Paul Weiss. Actually, the Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp had been a visionary in this need. It was way back in April 2020 that he established this then-new kind of practice. Here is how it's configured: 

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

The added value Paul Weiss creates for clients is the insights it derives from how it goes about its own mission of social justice. Karp has put the firm, its business, and its branding on the front lines of battles ranging from voter suppression to antisemitism. 

The honeymoon period for those engaging in virtue signaling could be already over. As usual, anticipate the lawsuits. 

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China's War on Celebrity Culture - That's Beginning to Sound Good Here, Too

"Experts say President Xi Jinping is launching an attack on post-Mao liberalisation, which along with capitalist free markets, opened people up to Western influences: a celebrity culture which promotes individualism rather than collectivism." - Ross Ibbetson, Daily Mail, September 1, 2021.

In China, celebrities are being labeled "social tumours." To apply an American phrase, they seem to be "sucking up too much oxygen."

Some of that is already happening here. It really is.

"White shoe" is a bad thing to say about law firms. They need to be positioned and packaged as inclusive. And in recruiting they are actually becoming more so. For instance, with the shortage of associate talent, Kirkland & Ellis has been hiring junior lawyers who hadn't matriculated at elite law schools. 

The Hamptons, where new money is driving out old money, is not where you want the media to hunt you down and take a star-snap. The area seems poised for the barbarians to penetrate the gates. 

Celebrities are turning on celebrities. Rose McGowan calls Oprah Winfrey a "fake."

And more professionals are veering away from the fame, influence, and money of top jobs. Instead they are downshifting to fewer hours even with less money. In itself, the American Dream, since the post-World War II boom, of upward mobility could be becoming an anachronism. 

The new ethos is the ability to enjoy simple human touchpoints.  

Part of that is the discovery, both by researchers and organizational leaders, that during COVID remote our humanity suffered.

Sure, the work got done and with windfall revenues in the legal sector.

But the culture withered in terms of bonding with colleagues, getting mentored by higher-ups, and even being able to sell prospects on solutions.

Another part is that leaders with power and ordinary citizens with a voice on social networks  are looking at what America has become.

To do that, you might say, they have retrieved film-maker Frank Capra genius of being able to feel what real people are feeling. Not just be preoccupied with work.

It's possible: Business could embed the raw caring of a George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life?"

On the front lines, for example, is Brad Karp, chairperson of law firm Paul Weiss. Karp leverages the resources of that firm to go after voter suppression, bias, and the death penalty. 

Classic still is Dentons' Chairperson Joe Andrew's op-ed in The Hill on how the poor had to go to work in person and risk their lives in COVID times, pre-vaccinations.

And over in the climate-change-challenged Gulf Coast Paul Chaney asks readers on LinkedIn if it's okay to talk about his faith. He does that instead of self-promoting his communications services. Chaney is humanizing that professional network. 

If there continues to be a revulsion about celebrity culture, it could be a wonderful life - for all of us.

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Okay, Henri Is Here, But All the Other Stuff Still Overwhelms Us (and, omg, hold the cliches about labor relations this Labor Day)

HERE'S HENRI... LATEST..
Weakens to tropical storm...
Northeasterners hunker down...
'Extremely worrisome'...
Storm surge threat...
RI in crosshairs...
Half CT could lose power...
NYC Sees Historic Rain...
Streets, subways flood...
Concert to celebrate end of virus cancelled...
Trains, flights canceled...
ADVISORY...

- Headlines from Drudge Report, August 22, 2021

There's no telling with media. Why do the most influential outlets choose one story to ride and ride and ride and pull others off the front page?

For some reason, media such as the Drudge Report got a bee in their bonnets to play out big storm Henri. Like, are we supposed to set up GoFundMe accounts for those getting drenched in the Hamptons?

Maybe the media is piggybacking on the climate-change meme. Maybe it's that they're giving readers a break from the other current horrors, ranging from the COVID mutations to the global economic recovery's becoming wobbly. What will the stock market do tomorrow to our retirement funds ...

Meanwhile, amid the horror there are moments of smug satisfaction. Use them or lose them.

At the top of the list is the memory of Morgan Stanley's Chief Legal Officer Eric Grossman seemingly bullying (but with the velvet-glove rhetoric of "encourage") law firms to high-tail back to the office full-time.

In The Wall Street Journal article about that and more Grossman didn't comment. Yeah, he ducked.

Remember that platitude that most alleged bullies are really cowards? 

In that same article what was amazing was that law-firm chairpersons such as Akin Gump's Kim Koopersmith and Paul Weiss' Brad Karp took on that Grossman divine-right-of-kings stuff. Their office policy was not going to be in sync with that. You bet, both emerged as heroes of these crazy times. Bloomberg Law should create an award for them. 

Incidentally, JPMorgan Chase head Jamie Dimon also came off looking bad with his office pontification. (In addition, Dimon didn't come off looking so hot in the book "The Cult of We" by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. It ranks 4,906 on Amazon.)

Smirk. The reality is this, of course: The Delta variant and more of those projected to circle around this fall and winter have made the whole matter of returning to the office an eye-roller. Even with initial jabs, boosters, masks, and social distancing, businesses might opt for "an abundance of caution" and not try that. Not now. Not for a long time. Maybe never again. The Wall Street Journal speculates the shut-out could last up to two years. I put that as optomistic.

Anyway McKinsey & Co. warns of serious mental distress among workers when The Big Return does occur. In addition, Bloomberg Law projects lots of ADA lawsuits when the rubber meets the road on employer mandates to get back into the office. 

The next story that is positioned and packaged as big could be scheduled for around Labor Day. Of course, most workers won't be in the offices. But their shifting values will be analyzed. Yet again and again. As if the current labor-relations movement is new.

Actually, it dates back to 2007. That's when gay associate Aaron Charney sued his employer Sullivan & Cromwell for alleged bias. The Wall Street Journal ran the headline "Are Aaron Charney's Big-Law Firm Days Over."

Turns out they weren't. Not only did Charney get a settlement. He landed another job in an elite law firm. Yes, Charney might be anointed the father of the current workers-rights movement. And employment-rights powerhouse Sanford Heiseler has been busy since. 

Come on, already cliche are The Great Resignation, Work-Life Balance, and Downshifting to a minimalist lifestyle. However, we probably can expect more of that around Labor Day. Looping in on all that Manhattan pubic relations player Bob Dilenschneider will likely publish as he does every national holiday an inspirational commentary. Are we supposed to do backflips and headstands about, if Dilenschneider tells us, how ennobling work is? We have been doing work ever since Adam and Eve had, as lawyers would put it, made an error of judgment. 

But the real story could be this: Will media lose its power? The news has been so unhinging and presented in such a biased manner and with so much blaming that more and more are saying they're no longer following it. Disonnecting from news is already happening in Australia.

For what's taking place on planet earth we might glance in the distance for smoke signals. 

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Is FTC Playing Out 21st Century Moby Dick Obsession? - Refiles Dismissed Lawsuit Against Facebook

"U.S. antitrust officials [at the FTC] refiled their monopoly lawsuit against Facebook Inc., seeking to salvage the landmark case that a judge [U.S. District Judge James Boasberg] threw out in June. [That was in] federal court in Washington, alleging that Facebook violated antitrust laws by buying Instagram and WhatsApp in order to eliminate them as competitors. As in the previous complaint, the FTC is asking the court to unwind the acquisitions." - David McLaughlin, Bloomberg Law, August 19, 2021.

Among the reasons Judge Boasberg gave for the dismissal that first time around was this: The FTC didn't present adequate detail documenting that Facebook had created a monopoly in social media. 

The FTC had rejected Facebook's recusal petition in this matter. It requested that FTC Chairperson Lina Khan not participate in the litigation. She had published academic work on alleged monopolies in tech and had been part of the U.S. House panel on antitrust. Her signature is her study "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox" in the Yale Law School Journal. 

So, Kahn will be part of this litigation. Her apparent zeal about eliminating alleged unfair competition in America seems analogous to Captain Ahab's pursuit of a certain whale in the novel "Moby Dick." Both can be interpreted as obsession. And obsession usually doesn't end well.

What business may be wondering: Is economic disaster ahead and, if so, can it be prevented?

A positive sign is that Uber won the appeal in the First Circuit in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Boston Taxi Conglomerate. That reaffirms the original win and then the appeal win in district court. Uber was represented by Paul Weiss, which is chaired by Brad Karp. The lead attorney had been Karen Dunn, an expert in tech. Here is an analysis of that litigation.

Uber is known for its aggressive use of legalities as a business tool. Both its mindset and its legal strategies/tactics in that antitrust matter can be adopted by business as a push-back model. 

Right now, the antitrust folks seem to be on the side of the angels. But that doesn't mean they can't be taken on, especially in the courts of law. Uber could emerge as the superhero of American business.

Meanwhile, any sign of a Captain Ahab type player in government should be investigated. Obsession is different than passion. 

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Being Part of Something Important - From WeWork to Applying to Law School

Adam Neumann's super-octane pitch to constituencies ranging from employees to clients renting office space from WeWork was this: You are being part of something important.

That something important was that WeWork had created a holistic approach to living.

It was that instead of the old work/balance cliche work would be totally integrated into a life. The model established by WeWork made that happen. People would work side-by-side, socialize, grow from their interactions and not be in-silos such as the traditional offices and cubicles. The cool term Newmann used for that was "community."

That same force field of being part of something important could be driving youth to law school. After all the profession is a game-changer. At Sanford Heisler, David Sanford has put employers, including law firms, on notice to treat all kinds of employees without discrmination. The work lawyers do make headlines. Both the prosecution and the defense in "U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes" will be household names when jury selection begins on August 31st. And, from "Perry Mason" to Dick Wolf's new series "For the Defense," legal matters are pillars in pop culture.

For the opportunity to do something important, the JD Class of 2024, which is overbooked in 55% of law schools, will likley pick up $145k in student loan debt. In 2019, their average annual salary will be around $80k. Do the math. That isn't great, especially since interest keeps increasing. 

But we human beings don't do the math we we feel we are doing something important. Members of the military work for peanuts. During the countculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s, I operated in the front lines w/o payment. And, mothers never expect compensation. 

The tragic irony, as with those who looped into WeWork, is that all too often the something might not be important. Actually, it could be a con. Mankind seems to be Myth-Making Animal.

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Fame Isn't What It Used to Be - Leon Black, Andrew Cuomo, and More (looping in are their lawyers, too)

Before the media became the most powerful institution in the world, fame was a good thing.

Achieve it or have your agent/public relations representative engineer it and you were set for life. At the end of that life there was a gush obit. Also, if you were based in Manhattan you could be waked at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home. 

But, with the media era the famous become targets. In addition, things could become so heady that they can become victims of hubris or arrogance.  Not long into their fame phase, it's documented or it's alleged that they crossed this line or that line or many lines. Soon enough, they are infamous. Banish them to the Hamptons, like Matt Lauer.

Also, there's a new wrinkle in this fall from grace. This is also the era of the extreme power of lawyers. In "The Godfather," the lawyer was in the background. The good soldier.

No longer.

The lawyer now is a star. Perhaps even the star. 

So along with the once-famous Leon Black and Andrew Cuomo who are now infamous, their lawyers are in the spotlight too. They may or may not become infamous. However, the media tracks them.  So they also have to track themselves, their every public move. Yes, they are now watching the media watch them and how other constituencies are watching them after the media circles in. 

The most high-profile lawyer in Black's orbit is Brad Karp at Paul Weiss. In himself, Karp is fascinating. That's part of the presence he has established. Yes, he defended Black earlier in one of the many rounds of the Jeffrey Epstein association. But, yes, he's also in the front lines of social justice. Meanwhile, he is known as a Wall Street lawyer. So, who is this Masked Man? In my few business dealings with him I tried to break the code. Of course, I couldn't. 

In CuomoGate, getting so much attention is his lawyer Rita Glavin. Yesterday when The Gov resigned she was a busy bee, commenting in the usual lawyerly fashion what seems to play cute with reality.

That exposure will likely get her a ton of assignments to represent other politicos in the soup. Actually, whenever that happens even if she's not in the actual loop, the media will contact her for a quote. The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd. That will be over-the-top. But it could get her in the soup herself. The media is a wild unpredictable force. The Black-Karp association generated media hit jobs in Vanity Fair, Insider and a book. The media giveth and the media taketh away.

Yesyesyes. How things change. There had been "Fame The Musical." Its success was in sync with the universal craving for becoming famous. Who wouldn't want to be laid out at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home. Your final ride could be in a horse-driven carriage around Grand Central. 

That was then.

Now, it's not hyberbolic to classify fame as high-risk. Enter that force field and you could be doomed. 

But, at the start, how lit.

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Lawyers & Flexibility - Is That Just the Price of Entry?

On LinkedIn News, Kelli Nguyen published an article on lawyers' demand for permanent flexible arrangements about where they will work. In five hours, that article had received 18,246 page views.

Obviously, for law firms, as for myriad other organizations, flexibility is the issue. Law firm chairpersons such as Kim Koopersmith at Akin Gump who are providing that flexibility are being positioned and packaged as the right kind of leader.

But within that story there is emerging another story. And it's coming from where trends of all kinds originate: BigTech. There, reports MarketWatch, the talent is fleeing. 

Burnout is, yes, a driver. But not the only one. Others as important or more important are:

Demand for more flexibility in where they can work. They are even balking about hybrid arrangements. Incidentally Koopersmith is only offering hybrid, not full-time remote.

Perception that their employer is a closed system, in which change happens at a glacial pace. Of course, that mirrors many of the cultures in BigLaw.

Resentment of not having more control. A common beef of associates is not having meaningful work. Instead what is usual is that the partners develop the strategy. Then the "project" is divided into parts which in essence consist of predicable grunt tasks. Lawyers I have coached have even complained about doing copy-and-paste tasks.

Unhappiness with working at an organization that is receiving lots of criticism from the outside. For BigTech that is coming in the form of antitrust initiatives. The gallows humor about BigLaw is that it's operated by thugs in good suits.

These drivers for job change in BigTech are pushing workers to give up the prestige of being with a major brandname. Where those workers are primarily landing are in startups and young public companies.

Could this kind of disruption spread to BigLaw? Flexibility may just be the price of entry for accommodating what junior lawyers want. And, as in BigTech, hybrid might not cut it for long. 

Law firm chairpersons who assume that have taken a giant step in improving management-labor relations with agreeing to flexibility might find that the natives could return to being restless soon enough. Where they could head for are midsized law firms, boutiques, and even their own solo practices. 

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