Judicial Notice (06.17.23): Will The Robots Take Our Jobs?
One leading litigator leaving Kirkland, two Biglaw layoffs, a nine-figure settlement, and other legal news from the week that was.
Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at davidlat@substack.com. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking on the button below. Thanks!
The big event of this week in the Lat-Shemtob household was my husband Zach’s 40th birthday. Happy birthday, Zach! Thank you for being such a wonderful husband, co-parent, co-author, and newsletter editor. If you enjoy reading Original Jurisdiction, please join me in thanking Zach, who has edited this newsletter from the start. He has saved me from more errors than I can count—not just factual and typographical mistakes, but far more serious errors in logic and judgment.
Another highlight of the week for me was speaking at a retreat for the legal leadership team of Willis Towers Watson (WTW). As much as I enjoy writing, I might enjoy speaking engagements even more, especially now that they’re in person once again. Thanks to WTW for the warm welcome.
Now, on to the news.
Lawyers of the Week: David Boies, Sigrid McCawley, Andrew Villacastin, Bradley Edwards, Brittany Henderson, and Paul Cassell.
In November 2022, class-action complaints were filed against JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, alleging that the banks enabled the sex-trafficking crimes of the notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein, their longtime banking client—despite numerous red flags. Now, less than a year later, both banks have settled—in the amounts of $290 million, for JPMorgan, and $75 million, for Deutsche Bank. It’s a great result for Epstein’s many victims, achieved in a remarkably short period of time.
Credit for the $365 million in settlements goes to a group of lawyers who have been pursuing Epstein and his alleged enablers for years: David Boies, Sigrid McCawley, and Andrew Villacastin, partners at Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF); Bradley Edwards and Brittany Henderson, partners at Edwards Pottinger; and former federal judge Paul Cassell. And they will all do well while doing good. Although the settlements have not yet received final approval from Judge Jed Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)—who also deserves huge kudos, for moving these cases through motion practice and discovery in mere months—the lawyers’ fees should run into the tens of millions.
Ross Todd of the American Lawyer recognized Boies and McCawley as Litigators of the Week. As they told Todd, their firm started representing Epstein victims nine years ago this month (and Edwards and Henderson started years before that). Until these latest settlements, BSF’s work for Epstein survivors was done pro bono, consistent with the firm’s long tradition of such work (most notably Hollingsworth v. Perry, the California marriage-equality case). This time, McCawley explained, the cases against the giant banks “involved significant risk and required a substantial financial investment and an excessively large team,” so BSF did reach an agreement providing for fees and costs. Given excellent outcomes achieved in record time, Boies Schiller and Edwards Pottinger seem to have earned their keep.1
Here are three lawyers in the news for less positive reasons:
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