Corporate Counsel

01/08/2026

The appointment of veteran W.W. Grainger lawyer Aimee Nolan to the role comes as a new generation of legal leaders sweep into the nation's freight railroad companies.

01/08/2026

DHL General Counsel Mark Smolik called losing Elaine Darr to Safelite a "proud and bittersweet moment" and said Darr "is a true example of what dedication, integrity, and a passion for excellence can achieve."

01/08/2026

Nekia Hackworth, one of the SEC's highest-ranking Black attorneys, had been with the agency for five years, the last eight as a deputy director of enforcement. https://loom.ly/j65-cQA

Nekia Hackworth, who'd been one of the Securities and Exchange Commission's highest-ranking Black attorneys, will serve as a partner in the firm's Atlanta office.

01/08/2026

Justin Johnson comes from the global engineering giant Jacobs, where he worked eight years, rising to general counsel. https://loom.ly/Iidx2iQ

Less than a decade ago, Westinghouse was in bankruptcy. Today, its pipeline is flush with tens of billions of dollars in projects.

01/08/2026

The "gravitational pull" from these big-dollar payouts is attracting "elite talent" to the plaintiffs' bar to pursue new filings with creative strategies, warns Gerald Maatman, co-author of Duane Morris' annual class action review. https://loom.ly/xMQ86y0

Class actions are no longer just a litigation threat—they're threats for which corporate boards, investors and insurers must proactively plan, Duane Morris partner Gerald Maatman said.

01/07/2026

"Class actions are no longer just a litigation threat—they're threats for which corporate boards, investors and insurers must proactively plan," Duane Morris partner Gerald Maatman said.

01/07/2026

Less than a decade ago, Westinghouse was in bankruptcy. Today, its pipeline is flush with tens of billions of dollars in projects.

01/07/2026

“The vast majority of the approximately 66,000 water systems that would be subject to the rule will incur substantial administrative and monitoring costs with limited or no corresponding public health benefit as a whole,” EPA stated. https://loom.ly/_S_eUW4

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action was the latest move in a decade-long legal battle with the Natural Resources Defense Council over regulating perchlorate, which has been linked to cbrain damage in fetuses and infants.

01/07/2026

The hiring of C.J. Mahoney provides Meta with a legal leader with significant experience at the intersection of technology, trade policy and government relations. https://loom.ly/AxSoMrg

C.J. Mahoney is capitalizing on a game of musical chairs set in motion by Meta Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead's jump to Apple.

01/07/2026

On-demand legal services provider Axiom's 2026 Global In-House Talent Study found that while 83% of in-house legal professionals have high job satisfaction, nearly half are either actively or passively job-hunting, and stress is the reason. https://loom.ly/LJ_pCRI

“Even happy lawyers leave when workloads become unmanageable,” Axiom's 2026 Global In-House Talent Study says.

01/07/2026

"Evaluating outside counsel is far more complex in the age of AI. While most firms now claim capability, distinguishing between surface-level experimentation and institutional competence is essential." https://loom.ly/8lvNFkA

Rapid, widespread adoption of AI is also making it more challenging for legal departments to evaluate outside counsel. Plenty of firms now claim to use AI, but that disclosure alone reveals nothing about the maturity, security, or value delivered for legal operations professionals. To separate firms...

01/07/2026

Kevin Cohn, chief customer officer at Brightflag, has released his 2026 legal tech predictions and this year’s forecast is bullish on in-house growth, legal-ops hiring and the continued convergence of legal technology tools. https://loom.ly/Isl5WzE

In-house attorneys are “advantaged ... because they have greater context and situational awareness” than outside counsel when it comes to operationalizing AI and other emerging technologies, Brightflag Chief Customer Officer Kevin Cohn said in his 2026 forecast.