Stories making recent headlines on LawFuel . .
- Musk v Altman: The Lawyers Running the Biggest AI Trial on Earth | LawFuel
The Musk v Altman trial is being sold as a grudge match between two tech billionaires over the future of artificial intelligence. But the real contest is between two skilled commercial litigators. Elon Musk has turned to New York trial lawyer Steven Molo of MoloLamken who delivered his opening statement in Oakland to a nine-person jury on April 28, 2026 with Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella’s Los Angeles office playing a supporting role having been lead counsel on Musk’s original state court filings. Log in to read the article . . - Private Equity MSO Deal Lawyers – The Holland & Knight Lawyers Closing 15+ Law Firm Transactions in Six Months

- Lateral Hiring Surges 16.4% in 2025: Small Firms Crush It With 44% Growth as Talent Wars Accelerate
The U.S. law firm lateral market shows healthy expansion and also provides a strategic shift toward senior leverage and a surprising surge at smaller firms. According to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) 2025 Survey of Law Firms on Lateral and 3L Hiring (released April 22, 2026), total lateral hiring volume rose 16.4% year-over-year among the 305 offices/firms reporting comparable data. Log in to read more . . - Sullivan & Cromwell Joins the AI Hall of Shame — and the Irony Is Exquisite

- LawFuel’s Legal AI Power List 2026

- Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Partners Approve Biggest Law Firm Merger Ever — Big Law’s Latest Power Play for Scale in a Shrinking World
Partners at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Hogan Lovells have just delivered the final, resounding “yes” on what the industry is already calling the largest law firm merger in history. The votes closed this month, clearing the runway for the combined firm — Hogan Lovells Cadwalader — to open its doors on July 1 with a projected $3.6 billion in annual revenue and roughly 3,100 lawyers spread across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. It’s the kind of deal that makes managing partners lose sleep and rainmakers salivate. Cadwalader, Wall Street’s oldest firm, brings its legendary finance, structured products, and capital markets firepower. Log in to read more . . - Latham & Watkins 2025 Financial Performance Shows Record Global Revenue of $8.3 Billion and London Milestone
Latham & Watkins LLP (Latham) has reported record financial results for fiscal year 2025 (ended 31 December 2025), with global gross revenue reaching $8.3 billion, representing an 18.6% increase from approximately $7 billion in 2024. Profit per equity partner (PEP) rose 21.3% to approximately $8.7 million. The standout achievement is the firm’s London office, which crossed the $1 billion revenue threshold for the first time (up from approximately $850 million in 2024, equating to growth of more than 17%) Log in to read more . . - Australian Billionaire’s Law Firm Takes Meta’s Section 230 Shield to the Mat Over Deepfake Scam Ads
Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has poured more than $60 million, – and counting – of his own money into a high-octane federal lawsuit in California’s Northern District Court, accusing Meta of actively enabling and profiting from more than 230,000 deepfake scam ads that stole his likeness to fleece thousands of victims, many of them elderly Australians. Log in to read more . . . - Yale Dethroned: Stanford Claims Law School Crown After 36 Years of Ivy League Dominance

- Sports Law Explodes As Elite Deal-Makers Command $10M+ in Poaching Frenzy
If you’re a sports lawyer with a strong book of business, or an ambitious associate eyeing the biggest payday of your career with BigLaw firms currently writing checks most lawyers only dream about. Elite transactional rainmakers who live and breathe NBA, NFL, MLB, WNBA and private-equity sports deals are now routinely commanding $8 million to $12 million-plus in annual compensation, with the very top names clearing eight-figure packages in the fiercest poaching war the practice has ever seen. Log in to read more . . - Against the Tide – Perkins Coie returns to Mainland China

- 2026 BigLaw Salary Scale: When Is the Next Raise Dropping? r/biglaw Weighs In
It’s April 2026, and the usual spring fever has hit r/biglaw, except this year the chatter isn’t about bonus season (that already came and went). It’s all about the next salary scale. Log in to see the 2026 scale . . .