FINANCE
• Downsizing on Wall Street isn't cheap. As Merrill Lynch tried to winnow its workforce down by 4,000 people, it offered deals to employees such as health-care coverage for life — to the tune of just $100 per month. [NYS]
• Citigroup's new motto was its second choice. Its first? "Let's Get It Done." Something tells us that will be the firm's lacrosse team's cheer this year… [NYT]
• Here's a good sign: The banks and companies raised $20 billion last week, perhaps signaling that the worst of the financial crisis might be over. [FT]

LAW
• Uma Thurman's lawyer, Bert Fields, is alleging that his client's Lancôme contract ended in 2004, but the makeup brand has been using her image to hawk products around the globe ever since. The company has hit back at her $15 million suit with a countersuit of their own. [WWD]
• Will both Latham & Watkins and Skadden gross more than $5 billion this year? Maybe not, but law firms are expected to continue growing at a fast pace. [Law.com]
• Lawyers have bad grammar. But it's okay, you're not meant to understand what they're saying. [National Law Journal]

REAL ESTATE
• OMG, stop the presses! Is the word "deal" actually used in an article about Manhattan rent? [NYT]
• The elite Spence School is buying the former mansion of an international socialite on East 90th Street for somewhere around $20 million. [NYT]
• Want two Lexus hybrids to go with your condo? [NYT]