Welcome to Lookzy. Lookzy: all your daily legal news in 0.1 billable hours. Litigation, deals, lateral moves and industry news; we cover it all.

In today's Lookzy:

• Breaking down deal flow in a recession

• Indicted Fox Sports execs look to Perkins doc to beat FIFA corruption charge

• The billions in share sales keeping securities teams busy

• Why Kirkland is the biggest winner in crypto

DEAL FLOW IN A RECESSION

During a recession, corporate deal flow typically slows down. But not uniformly. What gets busier, what gets quieter, and what's driving this? Most associates practicing today have never worked through a real, 2008-type recession (but you might soon!).

The biggest factor causing a drop in deal flow isn't the actual current "level" of the economy but rather volatility. Many companies are willing and able to take advantage of depressed prices and do even large deals during a recession so long as they have some ability to predict what the short term future looks like.

It's the uncertainty of not knowing what comes next which causes companies to take a pause, if they can.

In times of uncertainty, M&A tends to be the area most impacted, as companies become more risk averse. Securities work also can slow down, but depending on interest rates, many companies are forced to raise cash no matter the terms or seek to raise cash opportunistically, as was the case at the start of the pandemic.

Startup financing can often dry up almost entirely, as evidenced by certain of the big startup firms doing layoffs (Cooley, Gunderson). Banking work, such as syndicated loan activity and debt restructuring, often increases during a recession as companies look for ways to stay afloat. And of course, distressed debt and bankruptcy work can become extremely busy.

The takeaway? Survive the periods of volatility, and as things level out you can find your niche to keep making your hours, even if that means pivoting your practice somewhat.

ECON SNAPSHOT

The difference between special bonuses and layoffs.

THE VERDICT

Arguing today's litigation news

FIFA scandal. Two former Fox Sports executives who were previously indicted in the FIFA corruption scandal are seeking documents from PwC and Perkins Coie that they argue will support their defense at their upcoming bribery trial.

Nobody actually likes the Pixel. The FTC, together with seven state AGs, has sued Alphabet and iHeartMedia for airing thousands of deceptive endorsements of radio personalities' use of Google's Pixel phone.

Class action misstep. A London tribunal determined that UK units of each of Baker Botts and Steptoe & Johnson should not have sent letters to potential class members in a lawsuit over a vehicle-shipping cartel.

More 'Succession'. Investors are seeking to persuade the DE Chancery Court to force Cleary Gottlieb to turn over a 2019 email sent by media mogul Shari E. Redstone seeking legal advice on CBS' $30 billion merger with Viacom.

Sanctioned billionaire. Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska may be forced to represent himself at an upcoming trial because sanctions appear to be prohibiting him from paying for any legal representation.

GDPR $. Meta was fined $275 million for breaching certain EU data protection laws.

Peloton payday. An investor sued certain of Peloton's current and former senior executives, alleging they sold nearly $500 million in company stock while hiding treadmill safety problems.

Too much pork. McDonald's sued a group of pork suppliers in an antitrust suit, claiming that the suppliers conspired to raise and maintain high pork prices.

THE DEAL

Wheelin' and dealin' today's corporate news

Black gold. Shell Petroleum NV agreed to purchase renewable gas producer Nature Energy Biogas A/S for $2 billion, as Shell continues its efforts to transition to net-zero emissions.

Busy securities month. Although there have been virtually no IPOs recently, the month of November had nearly $24 billion in equity share sales. This is the largest month of equity sales since August, during which $25 billion was raised. Relatedly, Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co., a refining unit of Saudi Aramco, has hired Citi and HSBC for a $1 billion share sale.

Click bait. Yahoo Inc., represented by Paul, Weiss, agreed to acquire a 25% stake in internet advertising company Taboola, represented by Davis Polk. The deal is structured as a 30-year exclusive commercial agreement and is expected to generate $1 billion in annual revenue.

Crypto contagion continues. BlockFi, a crypto lender and custodial wallet, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its fourth biggest creditor (sitting behind one of SBF's FTX entities) is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is owed $30 million following the SEC's fine of BlockFi earlier this year. Haynes and Boone, Kirkland and Cole Schotz are representing BlockFi in the bankruptcy. This is the fifth big crypto company currently in bankruptcy proceedings (Three Arrows Capital, Voyager, Celsius, FTX and now BlockFi). BlockFi is also reportedly suing Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX founder, to seize shares in Robinhood that SBF allegedly pledged as collateral days before FTX collapsed.

LBO uncertainty. A buyout deal to potentially take Toshiba private is facing delays due to the banks waiting to decide whether to extend loans to the company’s preferred bidding group.

Elon v. Cook. Elon Musk is cooking up a fight against Apple, as Twitter attempts to fight off Apple's 30% cut of all sales made through apps from its App store and other censorship allegations. Elon tweeted that Apple is allegedly threatening to withhold the Twitter app from the App store. Let's see if Elon is able to do what Epic Games and others failed to do.

BUSINESS OF THE FIRM

Lateral Moves: 

• Shearman & Sterling hired Mike Walsh, a former US Department of Commerce official, from Foley & Lardner.

• Quinn Emanuel's Stephen Swedlow, co-managing partner of the firm's Chicago office, will begin a 6-year term as a state court judge in Cook County, Illinois starting December 5th.

• Akerman LLP promoted 32 individuals to partner.

Industry News:

• No Cravath annual bonuses were announced today, following its partners' standing Monday meeting, so it's anyone's game.

• At least five large law firms (including Goodwin, Cooley, McDermott and others) have opened offices in Singapore in the past 18 months.

• The Supreme Court will be reopening the building to the public (beyond arguments) starting December 1.

BOILERPLATE

Alright, back to billing. That's all, folks!