Category: News Feeds

As firms transition back to the post-pandemic reality we’ve seen 4-day work from the office proposals, 3-day models, and firms willfully oblivious to the potential recruiting nightmare of making everyone come back in full time. Which model would dominate the emerging post-pandemic Biglaw world? The answer may have just gotten a little clearer.

Cravath, the firm the legal world traditionally looks to for everything from bonuses to basic organization, has now spoken when it comes to remote work models. Befitting a firm that always endeavors to lead rather than follow, it’s got an innovative approach that still matches the mood of the moment.

We think the right balance is up to six business days of remote work each month. We expect and trust that professionals of the caliber of our people can determine how that should translate into their weekly routine when we are back in the office. Just as in the past, sometimes a week can be more flexible, and other times inflexible—all depending on client and group/team needs, In the spirit of being part of a high-functioning team, flexibility is an opportunity to benefit from the convenience or efficiency of working remotely while maintaining the nexus of the workplace for all of us.

Cravath managed to resolve the 3- and 4-day debate by going with “3.5.” Because 6 days a month is, roughly, a 3-day in office week for half the month and a 4-day week for the other half. But it also comes with the level of flexibility that attorneys require. Models that try to set which specific days attorneys will and won’t be in the office are just going to end in frustration.

On the other hand, too much flexibility may well provide no flexibility at all. A sufficiently busy lawyer may find that “up to 6 days” means “0 days” some months. The push and pull of flexibility and predictability will define the first few months of the new normal.

The memo from managing partner Faiza Saeed hits all the marks in the remote work debate, noting the power of the firm’s tech infrastructure allowing everyone to provide elite work product from home, while also recognizing that years of in-office interaction provided the roots of the seamless transition to remote. With a model allowing attorneys to forge their own schedules balancing time in and out of the office, Cravath thinks it’s got the perfect solution.

Another big reveal in the memo is the decision to go with business casual attire for in-office appearances:

When we come back, and adjust to having to dress for the office (and perhaps wear something on our feet other than flip-flops), office attire will be business casual. Of course, where making a court appearance, the rules of attire will remain formal business, and when meeting with clients, judgment should be guided by the etiquette the client follows.

Cravath targets an office reopening of October 8.

The full memo is reproduced on the next page.

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Kinney Recruiting is working with a publicly traded life sciences company on its search for an in-house counsel to sit in either DC/Maryland or San Diego.

The role calls for 3+ years of experience and involves supporting the US operations on a wide range of matters including regulatory, general corporate, transactional, licensing, agreements (contract research, master services, clinical trial, etc.). You’ll have the opportunity to partner with/advise colleagues and have a real impact on the business.

The position comes with a competitive compensation package including a generous base, bonus, and options. Relocation is available. Please reach out to learn more.  cindy@kinneyrecruiting.com.

The Department of Justice has joined six lawsuits alleging that Kaiser Permanente knowingly submitted false claims for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to get higher reimbursements.

But Oakland, California-based Kaiser said it is confident that it has been compliant with Medicare Advantage program requirements.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services pay Medicare Advantage plans a per-person amount to provide benefits. The payments are adjusted based on demographic information and the diagnoses of each beneficiary. The adjustments, known as “risk scores,” are generally higher for those with more severe diagnoses.

To receive the risk-adjusted payments, Medicare Advantage plans must submit claims to CMS for each member and for each qualifying disease or condition. According to the complaints, members of the Kaiser Permanente consortium have been upcoding those claims, thereby violating the False Claims Act.

Since at least 2004, Kaiser entities have perpetrated a “systematic fraud on the Medicare Advantage program,” one of the unsealed lawsuits states.

The Kaiser entities allegedly pressured its physicians to create addenda to medical records to add risk-adjusting diagnoses which patients did not actually have and/or were not actually considered or addressed during a patient encounter. Kaiser did this often months or over a year after patient visits, the suit claims.

Further, the Kaiser entities have refused to correct — and to reimburse Medicare for — previously submitted risk adjustment claims when they discover that they were false, the lawsuits allege.

“Through this scheme, Kaiser has defrauded the United States of tens of millions of dollars,” according to the unsealed document.

In addition to Kaiser Permanente, the entities named in the complaints include:

• Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.
• Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado
• The Permanente Medical Group Inc.
• Southern California Permanente Medical Group Inc.
• Colorado Permanente Medical Group P.C.

Kaiser Permanente said it will vigorously defend against the allegations. The organization also lays some of the blame for the inaccuracies in coding on CMS.

“Our policies and practices represent well-reasoned and good-faith interpretations of sometimes vague and incomplete guidance from CMS,” said Kaiser in a statement posted to its website.

“For nearly a decade, Kaiser Permanente has achieved consistently strong performance on risk adjustment data validation audits conducted by CMS,” the statement reads. “With such a strong track record with CMS, we are disappointed the Department of Justice would pursue this path.”

The plaintiffs are seeking damages equal to three times the loss the United States has sustained as a result of the defendants’ actions as well as a civil penalty of $11,000 for each violation of the False Claims Act.

Photo: designer491, Getty Images

* LA Mayor responds to lack of homeless shelter beds with a general ban on camping. [Jurist]

* 14th Amendment claim against mandatory vaccinations smacked down by the 7th circuit. Also, this is what the 14th is getting used for nowadays? Ugh. [Reuters]

* Just stay home: Fake vaccination cards cost these two about 16k. That’s almost a month of law school! [The Crime Report]

* Why can’t they just say it like $hort? SEC plans to review their whistleblower rules. [Law 360]

* What do you mean I can’t harass you?! California’s definition of “harassment” may include behavior clearly protected by the 1st Amendment. [Reason]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. Before that, he wrote columns for an online magazine named The Muse Collaborative under the pen name Knehmo. He endured the great state of Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com.

Ed. Note: Welcome to our daily feature Trivia Question of the Day!

According to the Department of Justice, what percentage of employees working in the U.S. Attorneys’ offices located in the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York had their email compromised by the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group responsible for the SolarWinds breach in December 2020?

Hint: They said this activity constituted a major incident under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA).

See the answer on the next page.

I recently had the great honor to be interviewed by Ivy B. Grey, vice president, strategy & business development, at WordRake, about lessons learned in journalism that can be applied in law.

The interview is now posted at WordRake, where we discuss what journalism can teach legal professionals about effective writing, interviewing, working with editors, and meeting deadlines, among other topics.

Check it out at WordRake: Journalist Q&A with Bob Ambrogi.

Gone are the days when in-house lawyers can merely just do their jobs.

Among other skills, advocacy is a versatility perfected by many in-house lawyers. They increasingly advocate on behalf of others, for an
industry, or for change in the legal profession. In the process, they
build their own careers, contribute to their organizations, and even
change the world around them.

Unconscious Bias Against Women

Increasingly, many in-house lawyers have shone a spotlight on biases
against women. Helen Yoon candidly discussed her experiences with
these biases and how they impacted her self-esteem and career, as well
as sharing some advice for women on how to deal with biases when they
face them.

Biotechnology And What It Means

Other in-house lawyers have increasingly spoken up about changes in
industries and the directions in which they’re heading. For example,
if I were to ask you about biotechnology, you might give me a look and
explain, “I studied law, not science!” Fair enough. But, remember, law
relates to all fields, and we should try to keep our eyes and ears
open, so we can become better attorneys.

Darshan Kulkarni, principal attorney of the Kulkarni Law Firm and a
former in-house attorney, specializes in life science and health care.
He discusses the recent boom in biotechnology and the importance of
being patient-focused, making it crystal clear that lawyers who are
willing to roll up their sleeves can make a meaningful difference in
the biotech industry and their own careers.

Do You Like Your Job?

Whatever your job may be, whether you’re a lawyer, a teacher, or a
waiter, chances are that you’ve stopped and asked yourself if you
liked your job. After all, life is full of choices, and we tend to
gravitate toward the ones that make us happy. Punam Kaji, assistant
general counsel at the Ben E. Keith Co., talks about how to keep
at it, even if you don’t really like your job, providing pragmatic
insights and sharing real-life experiences.

The in-house lawyers are increasingly well-rounded leaders. They
advocate for change, move their companies forward, and impact the
world around them. They openly and candidly share their experiences,
model the changes they want to see in the world, and nudge their
organizations toward doing the right thing. It is increasingly
apparent that opportunities open to in-house lawyers offer a place to
grow, contribute, and make an impact.

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For as long as there’s been a bar exam, things have gone wrong for test takers. And when I put out a call for bar exam horror stories from the latest administration of the exam, well, Above the Law tipters came out in force.

And let me just say, y’all, I’m sorry. You went through the shit. By far the most common issue we heard was about was technical issues with ExamSoft — so much so that the ExamSoft debacle (and the aftermath) called for their own stories. But those weren’t the only issues that went down.

Like when your personal life interferes with test, and you have to deal with a hositalized child mid-exam:

I woke up at 3 am with nerves the morning of the MBE, so I was very tired to begin with. Then, as soon as I hit submit on my last set of MBEs and turned my phone on, I had a message from my husband telling me to call him. My youngest son fell outside and the brake handle of a bike hit under his arm, broke his rib, and made his lung collapse. We’ve been at the hospital all night. He’s going to be okay thank goodness, but I still haven’t been to sleep ???? —

Fire alarms can always be an issue, but this year it had an added twist due to remote exams:

The Florida bar exam was administered remotely this year, so my school (FIU Law) offered us the option to take the exam on campus in individual library study rooms. Most of the bar takers took the school up on its offer because we figured: if the entire school had some sort of wifi or connectivity problem, at least we’d be in the same boat as a hundred or so other students, and the Florida board of bar examiners would hopefully be more inclined to be accommodating if anything went awry. And awry it went.

Ten minutes into the third essay of the morning, the library’s fire alarm went off. We planned for a wifi malfunction, but the fire alarm?? My first thought was that it was a joke, albeit a bad one. Every bar taker instantly thought of the acknowledgement form we’d signed telling us not to break eye contact with the camera, which was proctoring each of us, and to report to the camera if there was any need to step away. So everyone started reporting to their cameras, something along the lines of: There’s a fire alarm! Do you hear it? It appears there’s an emergency?! I don’t know what to do? Okay I’ll stay and continue the test through the alarms—okay I can do it. I’ll die in this building. All the while thinking, DON’T BREAK EYE CONTACT WITH THE CAMERA.

Some people tried to ignore the alarms and continue. Others wandered the halls looking for a solution. Then the library staff started coming door to door, kicking everyone out of the study rooms and out of the library entirely. It was at this point that we fully panicked and also ran. Personally, I grabbed my computer and ran to the elevator (don’t ask me why it was still working through the fire alarm?), then ran down the stairs and out onto the grass, not because I was worried about any fire, but because the clock was ticking. I found a spot on a bench in a grassy area, showed my proctor that I was alone (and also panting and very sweaty), quickly twisted my face in an unsuccessful attempt not to cry, lamented the loss of time, and got back to writing, fighting off the ants that were making a new home in and on my computer. And, I was one of the lucky ones. Some sat in the grass completely surrounded by chatting undergrads who had also been evacuated. Some had people come up to them, taking advantage of the situation, to ask, “Can I have a minute of your time?” Unfortunately, no, literally not one minute. Still, others, in a moment of confusion and panic left their computers behind, and were left with only minutes to write their essays. Some fought the library staff and stayed in their rooms, through the blaring alarms and warnings to leave the building, willing to risk it all just to pass.

We’re all laughing about it now, because our worst selves are captured on camera and what else is there to do, but it’ll become much funnier, or not, on September 20!

Or this story, where…. everything just went wrong for one test taker:

This bar is where a bunch of things just went wrong.

A month before the exam I started getting severe hyper acidity due to stress. I’ve had to take days off studying cause I was literally throwing up as I studied. Bar exam day I was throwing up when I got the first password. I throw up before a few sessions and I dry heave several times during the exams.

As I’m answering my first MPT I realize that the AC wasn’t working, it was like 80+ almost 90 outside and I was sweating during my exam.

I suddenly need to pee 30 mins into an MEE question. I hold it in for an hour until the end of the exam, I rush into the bathroom and miss the toilet completely.

I’m on my last MBE question and suddenly my screen freezes and goes haywire. I can’t review and I just click finish and hope I don’t get flagged for anything.

This has truly been an ordeal and I’m just glad it’s over.

We’re sure glad you survive, and hopefully this will be the last time you have to deal.

If you survived or witnessed some horror story in action, let us know. You can email it to us (subject line: “Bar Exam Horror Story”) or text us (646-820-8477). Maybe your story will inspire others to persevere.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

I think it’s a combination of ‘big brother’ complex and fear of alienating some clients who are anti-vax.

— The unnamed leader of a New York law firm, who gave this explanation to Bloomberg’s Vivia Chen as to why more firms had yet to require employees to get vaccinated to return to the office.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.