This week's Ahead of the Curve delves into the employment figures for the Class of 2020, and why they are better than they seem at first glance.

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A stream of changes have been announced by law firms one after another, mirroring the well-known NQ pay war.

Your name, how you looked, how you talked—irrelevant.

"You can give people thousands of vacation hours a year. But if you don't want to decrease billable hours, then nobody will take it," said wellness consultant Jarrett Green.

"We are clearly pleased, though not surprised, by the decision to drop the charge in light of the facts and circumstances," said Joshua Schiller's attorney Douglas Horngrad.

Consumer protection filings led the pack in the past week in New Jersey federal court, according to Law.com Radar.

It is, unfortunately, all too common for law firm partners to side-eye business executives who are brought in to help steer the organization's strategy. But without mutual respect and some level of trust between lawyers and other high-level professionals, a firm's efforts to expand its C-suite can go sour in a hurry.

"It is clear that the Commission on the Supreme Court is nothing but a coordinated attempt to justify a naked political power grab by the leaders of Congress and the president," Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and her Republican colleagues said in the letter.

Few Chicago firms beat the Am Law 100 average growth in both revenue and profits, but strong balance sheets and high 2020 profits have set some firms up for growth in 2021 and beyond.

An ABA survey has found that women and minority attorneys have disproportionately suffered in the pandemic.

"That makes them feel that the courtroom is a place where they have some power or some agency where they matter. And the feeling that they have, whether they win or lose, of having been heard, is like gold," Ifill said.

Several readers agreed that the RFP process leaves much to be desired and is often a fruitless endeavor for both law firms and clients, but a number of them were skeptical that deeper conversations around tech and innovation during that process could cure those issues.

The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, a nonprofit organization led by women of color, has called on the president to grant clemency to 100 women in his first 100 days in office.

"Where I think we're headed with this is not Zoom as a replacement, it's Zoom as an adjacent," said Miami state court Judge Jennifer Bailey during a forum sponsored by the Online Courtroom Project and NITA.

The lockdown has changed how partner promotions processes are run, but opinion is divided over whether it is a good thing.

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Law.com breaks down the latest American Bar Association data on law school entry level employment to determine which schools fared the best—and worst—in 10 different job categories.

"Stay connected to everyone at the firm. Pay attention to and elevate the concerns of not only the partnership but of associates, business services and administrative staff."

Firms are increasingly open to new strategy perspectives, whether it's BCLP and Norton Rose Fulbright enlisting outside corporate consultants, or Kobre & Kim, which hired a consultant to grow its C-suite.