Litera Acquisition Quest Ventures Into Realm Of Dragons – Above the Law

Litera’s
acquisition
strategy
feels
a
bit
like
a
good
Thanksgiving
plate

a
variety
of
different
components
piled
together
to
create
one
satisfying
feast.
Just
in
time
for
the
holiday,
the
company
announced
this
morning
that
it’s
adding
a
helping
of

Office
&
Dragons
,
a
UK-headquartered
document
automation
company.


The
grand
plan
at
Litera
has
been
clear
for
a
while:
own
the
entire
legal
workflow.
From

acquiring
Kira
Systems

to
streamline
contract
review,
to

BigSquare

for
financial
and
business
intelligence,
the
company
has
steadily
built
a
one-stop
shop
for
law
firms.
Office
&
Dragons
joins
a
long
list
of
providers
brought
under
the
Litera
roof

and
more
importantly
brought
into
its
vision
of
the
attorney
workflow.


At
this
rate,
I
should
dust
off
my
phony
“generative
AI-enabled,
quantum-secured
data
compliance
solution”
startup
to
see
if
Litera
might
accidentally
buy
it
just
to
cover
every
possible
base
for
their
clients.

Office
&
Dragons
promises
up
to
97%
time
savings
serving
diverse
practice
areas
(Private
Equity,
Litigation,
Real
Estate

you
name
it).

Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 1.22.26 PM

Always
knew
Tom
Bombadil
was
up
to
something.

Office
&
Dragons
streamlines
document
intensive
work,
from
making
mass
edits
to
entire
suites
of
diverse
documents
with
one
click
to
quickly
spinning
out
suites
of
documents
for
a
particular
deal
type
with
forms,
templates,
precedents,
or
even
highly
negotiated,
bespoke
agreements.
The
product
also
provides
mass
redlining
and
collaborative
editing
capabilities.

There’s
a
delicate
balance
in
the
legal
tech
space
between
providing
a
product
that
will
save
lawyers
time
and
providing
a
product
that
will
rob
lawyers
of
billable
hours.
But
the
work
targeted
by
Office
&
Dragons
frees
up
that
magical
breed
of
wasted
time
that
both
the
client
doesn’t
want
to
pay
for
and
the
lawyer
doesn’t
even
particularly
want
to
bill.
That’s
the
sweet
spot
for
selling
tech
to
an
attorney.

Founder
and
CEO
Samuel
Smolkin
is
optimistic
about
the
move,
citing
the
growth
opportunities
afforded
by
Litera’s
resources.
As
he
put
it,
“With
integrations
spanning
Compare,
Kira,
Transact,
and
beyond,
we
aim
to
make
Office
&
Dragons
an
essential
part
of
every
lawyer’s
toolkit—helping
them
save
hours
of
repetitive
work,
focus
on
higher-value
tasks,
and
improve
their
quality
of
life.”
Litera
CEO
Avaneesh
Marwaha
captured
this
vision
succinctly,
noting
that
the
acquisition
reflects
Litera’s
“ongoing
commitment
to
expand
our
portfolio
with
mission-critical
tools
that
integrate
with
native
attorney
workflows.”

You
might
say
with
this
deal,
Litera
has
rolled
a
natural
20!
Ugh.
No,
you
wouldn’t
be
that
nerdy.
Let’s
just
say
they’ve
truly
won
the
Game
of
Thrones
this
time.
By
George,
that’s
arguably
worse.
Wait,
the
“George”
in
that
expression
is
also
a
dragon
reference!
Anyway,
this
deal
will
certainly
help
Litera
tip
the
scales
for
its
customers.
Oh,
I
give
up.




HeadshotJoe
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 or

Bluesky

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
.

Zimbabwe charts ambitious return to global finance at debt conference

  • Zimbabwe
    hosts
    creditors,
    partners
    and
    finance
    executives
  • Seeks
    to
    clear
    debt
    arrears,
    restructure
    external
    debt
  • Zimbabwe
    aims
    eventually
    to
    tap
    int’l
    capital
    markets
    again
The
Southern
African
nation’s
debt
pile
accounts
for
81%
of
gross
domestic
product,
and
clearing
it
will
be
a
tough
challenge
for
a
country
that
has
faced
numerous
financial
crises
in
recent
decades,
from
repeated
bouts
of hyperinflation to
multiple
unsuccessful attempts to
launch new
currency
regimes
.

President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
told
the
conference
that
Zimbabwe
is
negotiating
a
Staff
Monitored
Program
(SMP)
with
the
International
Monetary
Fund.

Securing
an
SMP
would
set
the
stage
for
required
policy
reforms,
African
Development
Bank
(AfDB)
President
Akinwumi
Adesina
told
the
conference.

“That
is
the
key,”
he
said,
adding
that
AfDB
stood
ready
to
offer
financial
support
to
cushion
Zimbabwe’s
economy
against
potential
adverse
effects
of
reforms.

Adesina
said
the
AfDB
also
had
money
available
from
a
special
fund
to
help
settle
Zimbabwe’s
arrears.
He
did
not
provide
any
figures.

Finance
Minister
Mthuli
Ncube
said
timelines
would
become
clear
by
mid-2025,
once
Zimbabwe
secured
bridge
financing
commitments
from
lenders
to
help
clear
the
arrears.

Analysts
say
paying
off
arrears
is
essential
for
an
economy
that
currently
cannot
even
access
money
from
the
IMF

the
lender
of
last
resort.

That’s
after
clearance
was
given
by
the
Sudanese
government.

“The
issue
of
arrears
is
a
major
albatross
around
our
neck,”
said
Prosper
Chitambara,
a
Harare-based
independent
economist.

“Once
the
arrears
are
cleared
it
will
be
cheaper
to
borrow
and
easier
to
attract
investment.”

UNSUSTAINABLE
SITUATION

Getting
on
track
with
bilateral
creditors

and
clearing
arrears
with
the
AfDB,
the
World
Bank
and
the
European
Investment
Bank

is
necessary
to
unlock
funding
for
Zimbabwe,
once
a
regional
breadbasket
that
now
struggles
to
feed
its
own
people.

“The
IMF
is
currently
precluded
from
providing
financial
support
to
Zimbabwe”
due
to
an
unsustainable
debt
situation
and
external
arrears,
an
IMF
spokesperson
said.

The
IMF
SMP
that
Zimbabwe
is
targeting
does
not
include
financial
assistance
or
require
approval
by
the
Fund’s
executive
board.

But
government
officials
say
it
would
help
Zimbabwe
demonstrate
a
return
to
sound
economic
policies.
The
government
already
missed
its
initial
goal
to
have
an
SMP
in
place
by
April,
as
well
as
a
second
deadline
last
month.

This
has
limited
IMF
engagement
to
technical
assistance,
such
as
budget
preparation.

DEBT
AND
DEFAULT

The
United
Nations
estimates
24
out
of
Africa’s
35
low-income
countries
are
at
high
risk
of
debt
distress,
and
since
2020,
Zambia
and
Chad
have
finalised
debt
reworks.
Ghana
is
wrapping
up
its
own
debt
rework
and
Ethiopia
is
in
the
midst
of
a
restructuring.

But
Zimbabwe
is
no
ordinary
default.
While
45%
of
its
burden
is
outstanding
debt,
the
rest
is
arrears
and
penalties,
according
to
a
2023
government
presentation.

The
Africa
Legal
Support,
an
AfDB
facility
that
helps
countries
deal
with
debt
distress,
is
paying
for
two
firms

the
Global
Sovereign
Advisory
Company
and
law
firm
Kepler-Karst

to
help
advise
the
government,
Ncube
said
ahead
of
the
conference.

Zimbabwe
has
only
been
paying
token
amounts
to
debtors,
including
16
bilateral
creditors,
Ncube
said,
but
gave
no
further
details.

Global Biglaw Firm Delights With News Of Associate Bonuses – Above the Law

The
Biglaw
bonus
announcements
are
coming
in
like
magic…
circle,
that
is.
That’s
right,
the
latest
firm
to
delight
associates
with
news
of
their
new
bonus
scale
is
Clifford
Chance.

Last
year,
the
firm
took
in
$2,861,200,000
in
gross
revenue
and
now
they’re
sharing
the
good
fortune
with
associates.
Today,
Clifford
Chance
sent
a
memo
to
its
U.S.
associates
announcing
the
firm
will
be
matching
the
Milbank
scale

for
both
year-end
and
special
bonuses.
That
puts
the
compensation
schedule
at
the
firm
as
follows:

Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 12.12.14 PM

Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
January
15.
You
can
read
the
full
memo
on

the
next
page
.

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
your
help!




Kathryn Rubino HeadshotKathryn
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
 or
Mastodon

@[email protected].


Bonus Time

Enter
your
email
address
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s

Bonus
&
Salary
Increase
Alerts
.


Minor Hotels is about to open its first Zimbabwe property

Minor
Hotels
will
make
its
Zimbabwe
debut
with
the
Dec.
1
opening
of
the Anantara
Stanley
&
Livingstone
Victoria
Falls
Hotel
,
marking
the
group’s
seventh Anantara property
in
Africa
and
the
Indian
Ocean
islands.

The
16-suite
property
is
located
in
a
conservation
area
15
minutes
from
Victoria
Falls.
Each
suite
offers
flexible
double
or
twin
configurations,
with
two
sets
of
interconnecting
rooms
available
for
families.
The
property
features
a
gourmet
restaurant
serving
meals
in
the
dining
room,
terrace
or
gardens
plus
a
lounge
and
bar
offering
a
variety
of
beverages,
including
local
wines
and
craft
cocktails.
Guests
can
relax
at
the
garden
swimming
pool
with
shaded
loungers,
and
complimentary
WiFi
is
available
throughout
the
property.

Plenty
to
do

Activities
include
boat
trips
to
Devil’s
Pool,
ziplining
across
Batoka
Gorge,
helicopter
flights
and
Zambezi
River
sunset
cruises.
The
hotel
overlooks
an
active
waterhole
in
Victoria
Falls
Private
Game
Reserve,
where
guests
can
participate
in
game
drives
and
black
rhino
conservation
experiences.

The
opening
complements The
Royal
Livingstone
Victoria
Falls
Zambia
Hotel
by
Anantara
,
creating
a
dual-destination
offering
across
the
Zambezi
River.
Minor
Hotels
will
further
expand
its
African
presence
with
the
mid-2025
opening
of
Anantara
Kafue
River
Tented
Camp
in
Zambia.


Minor
Hotels

currently
operates
27
properties
across
nine
African
countries
under
its
Anantara,
Avani,
NH
and
Elewana
Collection
brands.
The
group
manages
more
than
550
hotels
globally
across
56
countries.

Source:


Minor
Hotels
is
about
to
open
its
first
Zimbabwe
property:

Travel
Weekly

Drake Files RICO Case Against His Own Record Label After Being Musically Curb Stomped By Pulitzer Winning West Coast Rapper – Above the Law

Remember
when
I
said
that
Drake’s
loss
against
Kendrick
was
so
overwhelming

that
the
only
recourse
he
had
left
was
to
take
him
to
court
for
defamation
?
Turns
out,
I
was
only
half
right.
Drake
is
going
to
court,
but
if
you
thought
the
only
RICO
accusations
involving
a
major
rapper
would
be
against
Young
Thug,
think
again!
The

disgraced
gambling
advertiser

is
suing
his
record
label
(Universal
Music
Group)
and
Spotify
because
Not
Like
Us

was
too
well
received
by
the
public.

NPR

has
coverage:

Drake
has
filed
a
petition
against
Spotify
and
Universal
Music
Group,
accusing
the
companies
of
conspiring
to
inflate
the
streaming
and
radio
numbers
of
Kendrick
Lamar’s
“Not
Like
Us”
amid
the
rappers’
months
long
feud.

Drake
says
in
the
petition,
filed
in
the
New
York
court
system,
that
UMG
paid
influencers,
radio
stations
and
others
to
promote
the
song
and
use
bots
to
increase
the
song’s
popularity.

He
references
the
companies’
multi-year
licensing
agreement,
and
says
they
have
“a
long-standing,
symbiotic
business
relationship”
in
which
UMG
charged
Spotify
a
licensing
fee
30%
less
than
usual
for
“Not
Like
Us.”
In
exchange,
Spotify
frequently
recommended
the
song
to
users,
he
says.

Drake
is
no
stranger
to
the
notion
that
a
music
company
and
streaming
service
can
artificially
elevate
and
push
the
work
of
an
artist:

But
things
seem
different
with
Kendrick.
“Not
Like
Us”
could
have
just
been
a
wildly
popular
song
that
was
played
everywhere
and
by
everyone:

While
it’s
a
little
early
to
speak
on
the
legal
merits
of
Drake’s
accusations,
there’s
a
general
understanding
that
Drake’s
lawsuit
is
about
as
far
from
hip-hop
as
it
gets:

This
is
the
tamest
way
to
put
things.
Others
have
been
far
more…
creative
with
their
disappointment.
Some
go
for
the
easy
tee-hee:

Others
delve
a
little
deeper
and
question
Drake’s
interesting
triaging
of
what
issues
to
tackle:


The
most
unfortunate
thing
about
all
of
this?


Drake
spent
weeks
goading
Kendrick
to
respond
.
It
is
unclear
if
anyone
in
Drake’s
camp
warned
him
that
getting
into
a
word
fight
with
a
Pulitzer
Prize
winner
didn’t
bode
well,
but
the
consequences
became
very
clear,
very
quickly.
Once
Kendrick
did,
the
ensuing
records

“Meet
The
Grahams,”
specifically

were
some
of
the
most
haunting
dissections
of
an
opponent
the
genre
has
seen
in
a
decades.
Even
if
Drake
ultimately
wins
in
the
court
of
law,
the
court
of
public
opinion
says
otherwise.

Nothing
is
gonna
be
the
same
all
right.
Ball
up
top.

Meanwhile,
a
second
Drake
lawsuit
recently
hit
the
courtroom,
and
this
time
he’s
addressing
the
pedophilia
allegations.
Billboard
has
coverage:

Drake
has
launched
a
second
bombshell
legal
action
against
Universal
Music
Group
over
Kendrick
Lamar’s
“Not
Like
Us,”
accusing
the
music
giant
of
defamation
and
claiming
it
could
have
halted
the
release
of
a
song
“falsely
accusing
him
of
being
a
sex
offender.”

Better
late
than
never,
but
who
in
their
right
mind
wouldn’t
lead
with
“Hey,
stop
saying
I
diddle
kids”
before
accusations
of
inflated
plays?
Do
better,
6
God.


Drake
Accuses
Universal
Music
Group
And
Spotify
Of
Unfairly
Promoting
Kendrick
Lamar’s
‘Not
Like
Us’

[NPR]

Drake
Files
Second
Action
Against
UMG,
Alleging
Defamation
Over
Kendrick
Lamar’s
‘False’
Song

[Billboard]


Earlier
:

Drake
Really
Has
One
Option
Left
Against
Kendrick
If
He
Wants
To
Win



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
.
 He
endured
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 [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.

Lawmakers backing separate cyber force see opening with Trump’s return – Breaking Defense

U.S.
President
Donald
Trump
speaks
during
the
United
Nations
General
Assembly
seen
on
a
laptop
computer
in
Hastings
on
the
Hudson,
New
York,
U.S.,
on
Tuesday,
Sept.
22.
2020.
(Tiffany
Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg
via
Getty
Images)


WASHINGTON

The
Pentagon
has
long
pushed
back
against
the
establishment
of
a
new
military
service
dedicated
to

cyberspace
,
but
with
President-elect

Donald
Trump

on
his
way
back
to
the

White
House
,
a
separate
cyber
force
has
a
real
shot
at
becoming
a
reality,
according
to
experts
and
to
lawmakers
who
support
the
move.


“This
change
in
administration
potentially
could
give
more
impetus
to
the
creation
of
a
separate
cyber
service,”



Quentin
Hodgson
,
formerly
the
Pentagon’s
director
of
Cyber
Plans,
told
Breaking
Defense.
“[Trump]
did
that
with
the

Space
Force
.
It
was
something
that
the
Department
of
Defense
didn’t
want,
but
he
decided
he
wanted
it,
and
it’s
possible
that
that
could
also
happen
with
cyberspace.”


Hodgson
was
hardly
alone
in
connecting
Trump’s
then-controversial
move
to
stand
up
the
Space
Force
in
2019
to
visions
of
what
his
second
term
could
bring
to
the
cyber
realm.
Among
those
who
made
the
comparison
to
Breaking
Defense
was
Rep.
Pat
Fallon,
a
Texas
Republican
and
vocal
supporter
of
the
cyber
force
idea.


“As
the
past
half
century
has
shown
us,
there
will
be
naysayers
and
contrarians
within
the
Pentagon
who
will
do
everything
to
slow-roll
major
changes.
However,
only
six
years
ago,
we
had
the
same
issue
in
the
space
domain,”
Fallon
said
in
an
email.
“We
need
concrete
progress
and
limited
stagnation
in
cyber,
something
I
know
the
Trump
Administration
will
emphasize
throughout
the
next
four
years.”


Fall
on
and
Rep
.
Morgan
Luttrell,
another
Texas
Republican,
authored
an
amendment
in
the

2025
National
Defense
Authorization
Act

that
called
for
an
independent
third-party
study
to
help
lawmakers
and
DoD
leaders
determine
if
a
separate
cyber
force
is
necessary.
The
study
is
being
conducted
by
the


National
Academies
of
Sciences,
Engineering
and
Medicine
.


“Incumbent
on
the
results
of
the
commission,
which
I
think
will
affirm
the
need
for
a
cyber
service,
I
believe
there’s
a
good
chance
we
will
see
[a
cyber
service]
come
to
fruition
in
soon.
The
Trump
administration
has
shown
that
they
will
not
put
up
with
the
status
quo,
and
will
opt
for
bold
action,
if
necessary,
especially
when
US
national
security
is
at
risk,”
Fallon
said. 


Luttrell,
like
Fallon,
said
in
an
interview
that
he
thought
that
if
the
third-party
study
came
back
recommending
an
independent
cyber
force,
Trump
would
likely
be
on
board,
but
u
ltimately,
it
is
“most
certainly
the
president’s
call.”


“As
a
congressional
member,
if
I
want
to
know
the
advancements
in
AI,
technology,
name
any
given
space,
where
do
I
get
to
go
to
that?
Do
I
have
to
go
talk
to
the
Army,
Navy,
Air
Force,
Marines,
or
go
talk
to
[Cyber
Command]?”
Luttrell
told
Breaking
Defense.
“Or
could
I
go
to
cyber
force,
talk
to
the
leadership,
like,
‘Hey,
where
are
we?’
And
then
they
could
say,
‘This
is
where
we
stand.
This
is
what
we
implemented.’”

‘These
Guys
Like
To
Build
Things’


Outside
experts
agreed
that
a
Trump
administration
would,
as
the
Foundation
for
Defense
of
Democracies
Mark
Montgomery
put
it,
“look
more
favorably”
on
a
separate
cyber
service.
Montgomery,
the
senior
director
for
FDD’s
Center
on
Cyber
and
Technology
Innovation,
said
such
a
service
could
“address
our
poor
cyber
force
generation
efforts
over
the
past
decade.”



Emily
Harding
,
vice
president
of
the
Defense
and
Security
Department
at
the
Center
for
Strategic
and
International
Studies,
told
Breaking
Defense
that
the
possibility
of
a
cyber
force
under
Trump’s
second
term
is
a
“big
shrug”
and
that
she
has
“zero
evidence”
it’s
in
the
works.
But,
she
said,
“I
also
know
these
guys
like
to
build
things,
and
you
know
they
were
the
ones
responsible
for
Space
Force,
so
why
not?” 


She
added
that
Trump’s
seemingly
close
relationship
with
SpaceX
founder
and
technology
innovator

Elon
Musk


who
was
recently
tapped
by
Trump
to
co-lead
the
new


Department
of
Government
Efficiency

i
s
another
factor
that
could
lead
to
a
cyber
force. 


“You
could
see
somebody
like
Elon
Musk
understanding
this
in
a
way
that
you
know
other
people
might
not.
So
I
don’t
know.
I
think
there’s
a
decent
chance
that
they
pursue
it.
I
think
they
should
pursue
it,”
she
said. 


Harding
said
she
primarily
supports
a
cyber
force
because
she
believes
an
independent
service
will
allow
the
military
to
find
the
most
cyber-capable
fighters. 


“The
kinds
of
skills
that
you’re
recruiting
for
in
a
cyber
service
or
in
a
cyber
role
are
very
different
from
the
kinds
of
skills
you’re
recruiting
for
in
what
you
consider
the
other
branches
of
the
military,”
she
said. 


“I
think
you
would
want
a
different
setup
for
recruiting
and
for
training.
In
the
other
services,
each
one
of
them
has
a
cyber
skill
set.
They
have
a
cyber
specialty,
but
there’s
not
necessarily
the
same
path
to
advancement.
So
I
think
it’s
worth
it
to
create
the
separate
service,
to
create
the
talent
pipeline
and
the
specific
structures
that
you
would
need
for
reserve,”
she
added. 


The
Pentagon
disagrees,
arguing
that
the
creation
of
a
separate
cyber
force
could
create
new
challenges
for
the
DoD
in
terms
of
understanding
warfighting
needs
within
each
service. 


“A
cyber
service
might
have
some
benefits
in
ease
of
administrative
management,
but
we
have
a
variety
of
…military
services
in
the
Department
of
Defense
who
perform
a
variety
of
missions,”


Mieke
Eoyang,
deputy
assistant
secretary
of
defense
for
cyber
policy,



said
last
year
Having
a
cyber
service
that
is
divorced
from
those
particular
mission
sets
may
pose
some
challenges
in
understanding
the
warfighting
needs
of
the
services
to
provide
cyber
to
enable
that
fight.” 

“I
think
the
question
is
that
for
people
who
think
the
cyber
service
is
the
answer
to
our

current
challenges
in
cyber
personnel
management:
be
careful
what
you
wish
for,”
she
said.



Related:

‘Be
careful
what
you
wish
for:’
DoD
official
warns
separate
cyber
force
could
pose
new
challenges


Furthermore,



at
the
end
of
September
,
the
department
formally
requested
that
lawmakers
shut
down
Fallon
and
Luttrell’s
proposal
for
the
independent
assessment.
DoD
leaders
contended
that
Congress
had
already
called
for
an
assessment
of
the
current
cyber
landscape
within
the
Pentagon,
which
included
the
potential
for
creating
a
cyber
service
in
the
2023
NDAA. 


Jacquelyn
Schneider,
a
fellow
at
the
Hoover
Institution
where
she
serves
as
the
director
of
the
Hoover
Wargaming
and
Crisis
Simulation
Initiative,
is
also
against
the
creation
of
a
new
cyber
service.
She
argued
that
rather
than
consolidating
cyber
expertise
and
infrastructure,
it
would
lead
to
information
silos
that
would
make
the
military
less
effective
in
the
cyber
domain.


“In
a
world
in
which
warfare
is
inherently
joint,
every
time
you
create
these
different
organizations,
you
create
information
stove
pipes,”
said
Schneider,
who
also
previously
served
as
a
senior
policy
advisor
to
the
Cyberspace
Solarium
Commission.


Right
now
it’s
unclear
where
exactly
Trump
stands,
and
his
transition
team
did
not
respond
to
a
request
for
comment. 


But
Scneider,
too,
said
she
could
see
a
new
cyber
force
taking
shape
under
a
Trump
administration.


“Trump
likes
to
make
services,”
she
said.

Top 50 Biglaw Firm Unleashes Much-Awaited Milbank Bonus Match – Above the Law

Bonus
announcements
are
flying
fast
and
furious
across
the
Biglaw
landscape,
with
Milbank
matches
behind
handed
out
left
and
right
hardworking
associates,
inclusive
of
the
compensation
leader’s

year-end
bonuses

and

special
bonuses
.

The
latest
firm
announce
bonuses
is
Debevoise
&
Plimpton,
which
brought
in
$1,355,559,000
in
gross
revenue
in
2023,
putting
it
at
No.
37
on
the
Am
Law
100.
With
all
that
money,
the
firm
was
ready,
willing,
and
able
to
match
the
generous
Milbank
scale.
Here’s
what
bonuses
look
like
at
Debevoise:

IMG_8462

Congratulations
to
everyone
at
Debevoise!

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
your
help!



Staci ZaretskyStaci
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

X/Twitter

and

Threads

or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn
.


Bonus Time

Enter
your
email
address
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s

Bonus
&
Salary
Increase
Alerts
.


After Losing Partners And Profitability, Top 100 Biglaw Firm Is Reportedly Seeking Merger Partner – Above the Law



Ed.
note
:
Welcome
to
our
daily
feature,

Quote
of
the
Day
.


They
put
a
lot
of
resources
into
the
U.K.
piece
and
as
a
result,
you
saw
a
lack
of
resources
in
the
U.S.
People
said,
‘You
know
what?
I
can
go
elsewhere
and
be
supported
with
resources
and
be
more
profitable.’




A
former
Bryan
Cave
Leighton
Paisner
partner,
in
comments
given
to
the

American
Lawyer
,
on
the
“dwindling
support”
the
firm
has
offered
to
U.S.
partners.
Six
years
after
Bryan
Cave
merged
with
Berwin
Leighton
Paisner,
the
combined
firm
is
reportedly
considering
further
mergers
after
slow
with
and
a
loss
of
nearly
50
lateral
partners.
“I
think
the
firm
needs
a
merger
or
some
other
transaction,”
another
source
told

Am
Law
.
“It’s
not
apparent
to
me
it
will
be
able
to
continue
on
its
present
course
in
the
long
run.”



Staci ZaretskyStaci
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

X/Twitter

and

Threads

or
connect
with
her
on

LinkedIn
.

Busy Associates Are Rewarded Generously At This Biglaw Firm – Above the Law

Big
bonus
money
continues
to
be
the
big
story
in
Biglaw.
Now
that
the
industry
has
gotten
on
board
with
the
Milbank
bonus
scale

of
both
the

year-end

and

special

variety

the
top
of
Biglaw
is
falling
all
over
themselves
to
show
that
they’re
one
of
the
big
players
in
Biglaw.
The
latest
firm
to
announce
a
Milbank
match
on
associate
bonuses
is
Katten
Muchin
Rosenman.

The
firm
took
in
$781,654,000
in
gross
revenue
last
year,
making
it
#66
on
the
Am
Law
100.
All
that
cash
on
hand
and
the
firm
is
sharing
it
with
associates,
if
they’ve
been
busy
billing,
of
course.

The
year-end
bonus
schedule
at
Katten
is
a
little
more
complex
then
most.
But
associates
can
take
down
market
bonuses
once
they
bill
2,000
hours.
Additional
billables
are
rewarded
as
per
this
chart.
Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 9.27.02 AM

Plus,
there
are
the
special
bonuses
that
associates
can
add
to
their
comp
package
when
they
hit
2,000
hours.
Screenshot 2024-11-26 at 9.27.08 AM

On
top
of
all
these
associate
bonuses,
“superstar”
bonuses
are
also
available
on
a
discretionary
basis.

Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
February
3.
You
can
read
the
full
memo

on
the
next
page
.

Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us
 (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/Matches”).
Please
include
the
memo
if
available.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
send
it
via
text
or
email
if
you
don’t
want
to
forward
the
original
PDF
or
Word
file.

And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we
also
use
for
salary
announcements),
please
scroll
down
and
enter
your
email
address
in
the
box
below
this
post.
If
you
previously
signed
up
for
the
bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
to
do
anything.
You’ll
receive
an
email
notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
your
help!




Kathryn Rubino HeadshotKathryn
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
 or
Mastodon

@[email protected].


Bonus Time

Enter
your
email
address
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up
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&
Salary
Increase
Alerts
.


Amid X X-odus, Nothing But Bluesky from Now On

As
the
disaffected
disembark
from
X,
the
social
media
platform
formerly
known
as
Twitter,
they
are
landing
in
throngs
on

Bluesky
,
the
X
competitor
that
has
seen
its
daily
traffic

grow
500%
since
the
election

and
that

shot
to
the
top

of
the
App
Store
last
week.
As
of
this
week,
Bluesky
had
surpassed
20
million
users,
adding
at
least
a
million
a
day.

A
fair
share
of
those
millions
are
arriving
from
law
and
legal
tech,
and
many
legal
tekkies
are
gloating
with
glee
over
their
feeling
that
Bluesky
is
a
return
to
the
good
old
days
of
the
Twitter
we
once
loved
and
spent
way
too
much
time
on.

I
finally
made
the
move
this
week,
and
you
can
find
me
there
at

bsky.app/profile/bobambrogi.bsky.social
.
Here
is
a
sampling
of
what
others
are
saying
who
recently
made
the
move.

It
does
have
an
early
twitter
feeling,
finding
random
people,
into
random
things
to
make
my
timeline
more
varied
than
what
I’ve
had
the
past
8+
years
on
twitter
once
it
was
established.


Ryan
McDonough
(@ryanmcdonough.co.uk)

November
20,
2024
at
6:55
AM

So,
like,
we
get
to
start
over
and
talk
with
our
friends
about
legaltech
stuff
without
going
to
the
Bad
Place?

Y’all,
what??
Emotions
are
happening!


Mike
Whelan,
Jr.
(@mikewhelanjr.bsky.social)

November
17,
2024
at
3:52
PM

Hey,
y’all!
👋

It’s
been
a
hot
minute.

Have
missed
the
community
on
Twitter
so
much
and
while
I’ve
really
enjoyed
all
the
time
I
captured
by
*not*
being
on
Twitter,
I
miss
you
people
even
more.

I
think
most
all
the
LawTwitter
people
are
now
here?


Cat
Moon
aka
@inspiredcat
(@catmoon.bsky.social)

November
19,
2024
at
10:13
AM

If
you
have
not
yet
made
the
leap,
this

Wired
piece
on
how
to
get
started

is
helpful.

Once
you
are
up
and
running,
an
easy
way
to
find
people
who
share
your
interests
is
through
a
starter
pack

a
list
someone
has
compiled
of
recommended
follows.
There
are
several
for
law
and
legal
tech,
such
as
one
called

AI’s
Impact
on
Lawyering
,
compiled
by

Daniel
Schwarcz
,
a
professor
of
law
at
the
University
of
Minnesota
Law
School.

You
can
also,
as
Joshua
Lenon
recommends,
use
the
Sky
Follower
Bridge,
which
finds
people
on
Bluesky
whom
you
followed
on
X.

When
I
first
began
using
BlueSky,
I
tried
the
Sky
Follower
Bridge,
but
found
that
the
legal
community
had
not
migrated
en
mass.
That
changed
last
week.

I
just
re-ran
it
and
found
1000+
accounts.

I
recommend
all
early
adopters
try
it
now.


Joshua
Lenon
(@joshualenon.bsky.social)

November
19,
2024
at
5:03
PM

I
tried
it
and
it
worked
well,
although
there
were
a
number
of
“false
positives,”
where
it
matched
someone
by
name,
but
it
was
the
wrong
someone.
Not
a
problem,
because
you
can
choose
whether
to
accept
its
recommendations
of
people
to
follow.

I’ve
also
tried

Threads
,
the
X
alternative
from
Meta,
and
it’s
never
quite
clicked
for
me.
Bluesky
feels
much
more
like
the
Twitter
I
once
knew
and
loved,
and
already
the
community
of
legal
tech
and
innovation
people
there
feels
more
vibrant
and
connected.

As
Willie
Nelson
might
say,
Bluesky
is
smilin’
at
me.