Ashurst’s merger with Perkins Coie might seem all fun & games, but it’s causing quite the stir in the States. More than 20 Perkins partners have jumped ship, with recruiters tipping there’s more to come. One partner called the merger a “monumental f*** up”, slamming Perkins management for not consulting the partnership. Instead, Perkins partners were told to “get on board”. On the Ashurst side, reports say there isn’t as much vocal opposition: Law.com

Very much a first-world problem, but Kirkland & Ellis has quietly scrapped its ‘Kirkland Concierge’ service, the on-call errand team brought in via Circles by Sodexo back in 2018. Lawyers once used it for everything from booking holidays to snagging exclusive dinners, even buying dog “snow booties”: Legal Cheek

KPMG Australia has caught 28 staff, including a partner, for using AI to cheat on internal exams since July. The firm will now separately disclose AI-related misconduct in its annual results and check self-reporting to professional bodies. Awkward optics for a firm selling AI advice, while also negotiating a 14% fee cut for Grant Thornton’s audit: AFR

More lawyers are swapping the partnership track for legal tech. No coding required, just practice experience and tech curiosity is enough to secure roles as “legal engineers”, product leads of AI specialists. With firms like Harvey, Legora and Luminance hiring aggressively, and salaries rivalling Big Law (US$270k+ and no billable hours), lawyers are ditching the firm’s corporate ladder or in-house perks for a move in tech: NB

Watch out law firms - a new Axiom report says over 80% of global in-house leaders plan to shift work away from traditional law firms to internal departments or alternative legal services providers within two years. Why? Rising rates, near-universal AI adoption and relentless efficiency pressure. Four in five say law firm fees are simply too high: PR Newswire