Category: News Feeds

We may all be working from home, but that doesn’t mean investment money isn’t flowing into legaltech — and particularly into legaltech for commercial contracts. This week, three companies, all providers of technology for contract review or management, announced financing rounds, raising a total of $26 million among them.

LawGeex: $20 Million

The largest of the rounds involved the AI contract review company LawGeex, which said yesterday that it had closed a $20 million round of financing, bringing its total funding to $45 million.

The round was led by Corner Ventures, a Palo Alto, Calif., venture capital fund focused on investments in leading growth stage technology companies, with participation from La Maison and the continued support of existing investors Aleph, lool Ventures and former Thomson Reuters CEO, Tom Glocer.

LawGeex says that it tripled its growth last year and that its customers include more than 40 Global 2000 companies as well as leading law firms three of the top five insurance companies.

“Contracts are the lifeblood of any business and we are using AI to transform legal, allowing lawyers to help accelerate deal closure and focus on more impactful work,” LawGeex cofounder and CEO Noory Bechor said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Corner Ventures to fuel this vision and continue building the greatest legal technology company in the world.”

LexCheck: $3 Million

The second company to announce a financing round this week is LexCheck, which is also an AI-driven contract review platform. The New York City company says it has completed a $3 million seed round.

Although founded in 2015, this is the company’s first venture round. It was led by the early stage investment fund Kli Capital (formerly known as BNSG Capital) and included participation by Howard Morgan, retired cofounder of First Round Capital, and Vivek Garipalli, cofounder and CEO of Clover Health, among others.

LexCheck says that its technology can accelerate and automate contract negotiations for companies of all sizes as well as for law firms. Among its features, it can automatically correct contract provisions, highlight issues for user review, and propose potential fixes.

It was founded by Gurinder “Gary” Sangha, a lawyer and serial entrepreneur, who previously founded Intelligize, a securities compliance platform that was acquired by LexisNexis. Prior to that, Sangha practiced securities law at Shearman & Sterling and White & Case.

“Successfully challenging the status quo and creating legal technologies that transform organizations have been the driving principles over the course of my career and remain our core tenets at LexCheck,” Sangha said in a statement announcing the financing. “With the help of our investors, we can accelerate our work and transform this sector even more swiftly and comprehensively.”

Malbek: $3 Million

The final company to announce financing this week is Malbek, a provider of cloud-based contract lifecycle management software, which closed $3 million in funding led by Philadelphia venture capital firm Osage Venture Partners.

“It’s a true honor to be part of the Osage Venture Partners family,” said cofounder and CEO Hemanth Puttaswamy. “The emphasis they place on collaborative company culture resonated profoundly with us. We have been a very disciplined team, innovating at a breakneck pace and signing numerous customers in the last few months alone. This capital will help us accelerate to the next level of growth.”

Malbek said it would use the additional capital to invest further in product innovation, expand sales and marketing, and expand its customer experience team.

Thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, Biglaw firms the world over have been forced to initiate all kinds of cost-cutting measures, ranging from salary cuts to furloughs to layoffs, to ensure that they’ll be able to keep their heads above these dark waters. While we’ve seen a few voluntary leave programs here and there, we haven’t seen any outright buyout programs — until now.

We’ve been told that Ropes & Gray, which came in at No. 13 in the most recent Am Law 100 rankings with $1,903,616,000 in gross revenue, will be offering a voluntary separation incentive program to all of its U.S. support team employees. Those who are approved for these buyouts will receive one week of severance pay per year of service, plus an additional four weeks’ worth of pay (with a minimum of 12 weeks and a maximum of 30 weeks). Most departures related to this program will occur between June 19 and August 3. The firm will continue to pay its share of the employee’s medical, dental and/or vision insurance premium cost through December 31, 2020. It’s important to note that attorneys are not eligible to participate in the program.

(Flip to the next page to see a copy of the email announcing the firm’s voluntary separation incentive plan.)

We reached out to Ropes & Gray for comment on the firm’s buyout plan. “We’re being proactive. We need to take steps now to address our new reality,” a firm spokesman said. “This offer of voluntary separation for our U.S. business support teams is one. Our firm is strong economically, and as a community.”

We wish all of the legal professionals at Ropes & Gray who accept and are approved for the buyout the best of luck should they seek new jobs in the legal industry.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

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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.

Under a so-called net-metering program, solar producers could register to transfer excess power to the utility and receive rebates on their electricity accounts., Zesa said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Net metering is beneficial to the utility and nation at large through the saving of foreign currency as there will be less power imports,” it said.

Energy Minister Fortune Chasi wasn’t immediately available to comment on the program.

Zimbabwe last year removed import duties on solar products to encourage the alternative power source amid a regional drought that has affected output from the Kariba hydro-plant, and frequent breakdowns at its coal-fired units in Hwange.

Businesses, including telecommunications, mining and retail, have switched to solar power as the country battles daily outages, sometimes for as long as 18 hours.

Post published in: Business

On 30th January 2020, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
With COVID-19 cases increasing worldwide including in countries bordering Zimbabwe and especially South Africa, Zimbabwe confirmed itsfirst confirmed case on 20. March 2020. Since then, there has been an increase in cases.

Latest figures on cases can be found here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/situatio…

The Government of Zimbabwe announced on 17. March 2020 the early closure of schools on 24 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Due to the uncertainty around the development of the COVID-19 transmision, the planned reopening of schools, which were initially scheduled open on 05 May 2020, remains uncertain.

The education system in Zimbabwe was already stretched before the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of multiple crises, including the impact of Cyclone Idai in 2019, the economic crisis, climate-induced drought as well as food shortages. The COVID-19 epidemic has interrupted the teaching and learning for students. The epidemic poses great risksto the nutritional status of children from poor households, violence among children from fragile families and as well as mental well-being among both children and teachers. Without a conducive and disease free school environment, COVID-19 poses a risk to children’s health and wellbeing. Further, there is increased risk of permanent drop out among children with pre-existing vulnerabilities, especially children with disabilities. Given that the education sector was already beset with persistent disparities in educational opportunities between children of different gender, socio-economic status, disability status, orphan hood status, and demographic groups.
Without a well resourced response, these disparities are likely to widen.

The overall goal of Zimbabwe Education Sector preparedness and response strategy is to (1) minimize morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 among school communities, teachers and learners in Zimbabwe, (2) minimize/mitigate the disruption to the childrens’ education and learning and (3) ensure safe return to quality learning for teachers, learners and school communities. Activities in this strategy must be urgently and effectively implemented, starting with the highest risk areas to ensure adequate protection of school communities.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MoPSE) and the Education Cluster look forward to working closely with stake-holders from across Government, donors, private sector, civil society, academia, professional associations, private-not-for profit sector, community-based organizations, religious leaders, traditional leaders, international organizations in the next few weeks and months

Post published in: Education

Like most lawyers, you’ve probably been sheltering in place for months now. The good news is that for some of your firms, reopening may soon be a possibility. Even so, things won’t be “back to normal” for some time now. As a result, this new world order we find ourselves in requires lawyers and law firms to rapidly shift priorities as the fluid situation evolves and changes.

Of course, this is nothing new. When social distancing mandates were initially instituted in March, the immediate challenges your law firm faced likely involved choosing the technology tools that would allow your firm’s employees to operate remotely. Once that was accomplished, the next task many firms have begun to focus on is maintaining financial stability in the midst of uncertainty. For many firms, that process involves identifying ways to sustain revenue and reduce unnecessary costs both during and after the pandemic.

Enter the newly published book, “Internet Legal Research on a Budget: Free and Low-Cost Resources for Lawyers.” The  second edition of this book is co-authored by Judy K. Davis and Carole A. Levitt and was just released by ABA Publishing. (Note that I was provided a complimentary copy for review purposes.)

This book is a great resource for law firms seeking to trim the fat from their budgets. It offers a vast amount of information and guidance for lawyers seeking to use the internet to conduct investigative and legal research. No matter what you’re looking for, this book will help you find it. Whether it’s background information on a person or a company, legislative materials, or statutory or case law legal research, this book covers it all. And best of all, most of the resources discussed in this 365-page guide are low-cost or free!

Of course, the problem with trying to locate information online is that there’s so much of it. That’s where this book comes in. As Bob Ambrogi explains in the Introduction, the reason this book is such a invaluable resource is because it helps you sift through the seemingly unlimited volume of information available online today:

(T)he Internet today offers legal professionals seemingly unlimited sources of legal information—much of it free. But that abundance can be daunting. Think of Internet Legal Research on a Budget as a roadmap to the best of what is out there. It will guide you to what you need, and save you a buck along the way.

No matter what type of information you’re seeking, it’s likely available online. You just need to know where to look and how to access it. In this book, the authors help you do just that by covering the ins and outs of a broad array of online resources including:

• Legal portals and directories (government, academic, and commercial)
• Case law databases (government and commercial)
• Federal Statutory research
• Federal, legislative, and congressional materials
• Starting points for state, local, territorial, and tribal law, and
• Foreign, international, and comparative law resources

For example, the first section of this book focuses on legal research and includes coverage of: 1) websites for general legal research, including court rules, jury instructions, and specific practice area resources; 2) legal portals and directories, including Justia, Findlaw, and Cornell’s Legal Information Institute; and 3) free or low-cost case law research databases, including Google Scholar, Casetext, and in-depth overviews of Casemaker 4 and Fastcase 7.

The authors also provide a ton of useful practice tips and advice on using the various resources discussed in the book. For example, in chapter 15, the authors discuss how dockets and case documents can be used for legal and investigative research. They explain that in addition to using dockets to conduct due diligence information about a person or company’s background, you can also use dockets to locate sample pleadings for matter similar to one you’re handling on behalf of a client:

Some attorneys use dockets for legal research purposes. For example, instead of drafting a complaint or an answer from scratch, some attorneys search dockets to find sample pleadings for cases that are similar to their case. If you are using PACER, there are a few ways to identify a similar case. For instance, you can find sample pleadings if you either know the party name or case number of a similar case. Or, if you don’t, you can search PACER by its Nature of Suit (NOS) codes … An alternative, and better, method to search for similar cases is by full-text key-word searching through case documents at the free CourtListener Recap Archive (and some pay databases) …

So if your firm is seeking to reduce costs as it moves toward reopening, one way to accomplish that might be to review your firm’s high-cost legal research subscriptions and cut back by reducing some of the databases to which your firm subscribes — and then accessing that same information online for free or at a lower cost. But before you do that, make sure to obtain a copy of this book so that you’ll have a how-to legal research guide available for your firm’s employees.

Sure, it’s a small up-front investment, but it’s one that will undoubtedly pay off in the long run.

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Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and Director of Business and Community Relations at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikiblack and she can be reached at niki.black@mycase.com.

As we’ve seen, the troubled investment banks of the world were laying people off in droves before the coronavirus pandemic struck, and cannot wait (and sometime aren’t waiting) to get right back to their firings just as soon as they can. Even some non-troubled investment banks have gotten into the fun, just to be safe. But, it turns out, one need not be in desperate straits or overly cautious to realize that you can make a ton of money with many, many fewer people to pay.

Revenues at the largest U.S. and European investment banks were $44 billion, up 12% compared with the same period last year, according to a new report from data provider Coalition. Jobs in the front office, however, fell by 6% to 49,000 over the year…. Investment banks have invested billions in technology to replace old systems and automate processes, making bankers redundant. Neither that spending, nor the layoffs, show signs of slacking. Many staff are working from home and that also has senior managers considering new ways to trim costs.

With Zimbabwe in lockdown since 30 March, sales of hard copies of newspapers appear to have plummeted. Insiders say media houses have been valiantly churning out copy ‘”virtually for free”. But that can’t continue.

According to Tabani Moyo, director of the local chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), “most of [the media houses] announced a 50 percent salary slash for their journalists. There will be a very bleak future post-Covid.”

Quoting a memo to workers, independent news website Zim Morning Post reported last week that “scores” of media workers, including those on fixed monthly retainers, had their contracts terminated at Zimpapers, the country’s biggest publishing company in which the government has majority shares.

The group publishes more than a dozen titles and runs a number of radio stations, including Harare-based Star FM and Capitalk 100.4 FM.

After-effects of AIPPA 

The cutbacks have still not officially been confirmed by Zimpapers – but journalists have echoed a story of slashed salaries and long-term career fears, similar of course to that being experienced by the media in many other countries.

Except Zimbabwe’s media was already in a vulnerable state: Its journalists poorly-paid in a sector still feeling the after-effects of devastating attacks on press freedom under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) brought in under former president Robert Mugabe.

“The pandemic came with a ravaging effect on an already-pressurised industry,” said Moyo.

He cited declining advertising revenue, shoestring budgets and the challenge of monetising online content.

A number of papers, including the privately-owned NewsDay, are sending out their editions as PDF files. Subscribers pay via mobile money – but at a fraction of the price of regular subscription rates.

No longer needed 

State media still has access to government advertising. Things are much tougher for the privately-owned press.

“Their situation is more precarious than the public media,” said Foster Dongozi, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ).

Precise figures of journalists affected are hard to come by. Dongozi confirmed that ZUJ had received reports of journalists being told by employers that “they don’t have any real need for them now.”

One reporter from a private daily newspaper told RFI that he’d had a 50 percent pay cut for April.

“You just have to try to think out of the box,” said the reporter, who asked not to be named.

“Many media houses are saying they don’t have money. Maybe by the beginning of next month, once we finish this lockdown, things will be better. We hope for the best.”

‘Terrifying prospect’

An 18 billion Zimbabwe-dollar stimulus package (around €368million) announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week does not appear to benefit the media.

“Some (papers) might shut down if there is no stimulus intervention,” said Moyo, the MISA-Zimbabwe director.

If that happens, the media sector faces the prospect of being dragged back 20 to 30 years, when Zimbabwe did not have strong and diverse media ownership.

That’s a “terrifying” prospect, says Moyo.

“In the era we’re operating in where there is rampant corruption… you need a robust independent media that keeps the checks and balances on behalf of the citizens.”

* A New Jersey lawyer has been suspended from practice for posting a client’s criminal history in a negative online review. Guess the disciplinary review board told the lawyer: “you’re not ‘Yelp’ing”… [ABA Journal]

* Tons of my fellow Garden State attorneys in the Morning Docket today, another New Jersey lawyer is in hot water for “friending” a litigant on Facebook to collect dirt. [New Jersey Law Journal]

* Paul Manafort is the latest high-profile figure released from prison early because of COVID-19. [Fox News]

* A paralegal for a U.S. Attorney’s Office is accused of giving information to a drug cartel. Her brother-in-law is allegedly the head of a drug-trafficking organization, seems like background checks could have been better. [CBS News]

* A staff attorney for the Cobb County, Georgia Magistrate Court was shot and killed while confronting a gunman last week. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

* Hackers are demanding $21 million from a law firm or they may release materials related to the firm’s clients, which include Elton John, Madonna, and Lady Gaga. Hope the firm has a good “poker face.” [Variety]

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Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

According to the State of the World’s Nursing Report, 2020 developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), nurses make a central contribution to national and global targets related to a range of health priorities, including universal health coverage, mental health and non-communicable diseases, emergency preparedness and response, patient safety, and the delivery of integrated, people-centered care. The WHO has also emphasized that by developing the nursing workforces, countries can achieve the triple impact of improving health, promoting gender equality, and supporting economic growth.

Nurses are the backbone of the public health system in the country, upon which most depend. Despite this critical role, nurses and midwives in Zimbabwe are poorly remunerated, with their salaries unable to match the great value they bring to the protection of the rights to health and life. For years now, nurses along with other health personnel, have championed calls for the proper resourcing of public health facilities and humane working conditions. At this present time, the essence of the nurses’ call is brought to light.

Yet, even under the most extreme of conditions, nurses continue putting the call to health and their patients well-being above all else. Nurses stand resolutely and firmly in leadership as we battle COVID-19 and other ailments afflicting our people. In the words of Nelson Mandela, one takes to the frontline when there is crisis.

Nurses in Zimbabwe continue to work without adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other necessary tools of trade, and without adequate remuneration to meet their needs. The Forum reminds the Government that every person has the right to fair and safe labour standards and that includes being paid a fair and reasonable wage, in terms of section 65(1) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013. Under section 65(4) of the same Constitution, every employee is entitled to just, equitable and satisfactory conditions of work.

The Forum stands in full solidarity and support of our nurses in their mission and struggle for the full respect and recognition of human rights, including the right to health. As such, the Forum calls on the Government to take heed of the recommendation of the WHO in its statement on International Nurses Day, 2020 to ensure:

• The occupational safety and health of nurses and all health workers, including unhindered access to PPE to enable them to safely provide care and reduce infections in health care settings;
• That nurses and all health care workers have access to mental health support, timely pay, sick leave, and insurance, as well as access to the most up-to-date knowledge and guidance required to respond to all health needs, including outbreaks;
• That nurses are given the financial support and other resources required to help respond to and control COVID-19 and future outbreaks; and
• That, along with other medical and scientific professionals, nurses are given a voice, are consulted and partake in shaping the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Post published in: Featured