Moves:
In-House
Legal Chief of Retailer Beyond Exiting at Tumultuous Time
The business recently announced that its $40 million investment arrangement with the struggling Container Store brand is in jeopardy.
United Soccer League Scores General Counsel
The United Soccer League’s general counsel, Andrew McIntosh, stated, “The league’s rapid growth is bringing increased interest from international investors and raised expectations for strong corporate governance, and I look forward to providing support in these crucial areas.”
UK & Ireland
Gibson Dunn Adds Jones Day M&A Veteran in London
Will McDonald is joining Gibson Dunn’s mergers and acquisition practice. McDonald, a Jones Day lifer, is leaving the firm after almost 18 years, in which time, he built out a practice specialising in public U.K. M&A deals.
APAC
DLA Piper Takes Greenberg Traurig’s Corporate Partner for Seoul
DLA Piper has appointed Jang Hyuk Yeo, a former shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, as a partner in its Seoul corporate practice. Qualified in New York and registered as a foreign legal consultant in Seoul, Yeo advises on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets listings, foreign direct investments and private equity transactions.
Reed Smith Hires DLA Piper’s Former Equity Capital Markets Partner in Hong Kong
Reed Smith has hired DLA Piper’s former partner and co-head of its regional equity capital markets practice in Hong Kong, Arthur Tso.
Ashurst Bolsters Singapore Offering With A&O Shearman Hire
Kok Jin Ong is set to join the firm’s corporate transactions practice and will be named partner following regulatory approval, Ashurst said. Ong leaves A&O Shearman after serving as counsel for eight months, before which he assumed the role at legacy Shearman & Sterling.
The Americas
Morrison Cohen Adds White Collar Partner; Corporate/Securities Partner Joins Olshan
Tracy Burnett has joined Morrison Cohen as a partner in our Regulatory Enforcement and White-Collar Practice. White-collar criminal defence, internal and governmental investigations, and regulatory enforcement issues are the main areas of her practice.
High-Profile Sidley M&A Partner Heads to Covington
Phil Cheveley is now a partner in the London-based cross-border M&A practice department of Covington & Burling.
2 Carter Arnett Litigators to Join Baker & Hostetler in Dallas
The name partners of Dallas trial firm Carter Arnett Bennett & Perez, Courtney Barksdale Perez and Joshua Bennett, will join Baker & Hostetler in Dallas on Monday.
A&O Shearman’s Former U.S. Co-Chair to Leave Partnership
After Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merged, Karen Seward was considered by many to be Wim Dejonghe’s successor.
Team Moves
Chiesa Shahinian Bolsters Corporate Practice With 5 From Newark Boutique
The real value add here, according to Glenn Stein, chair of the corporate and securities group at Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, is the privately held midmarket client that spins off not only M&A work but also financing work, contract and commercial transactions, intellectual property, environmental, and real estate.
Another Insurance Team Departs Clyde & Co in Australia
Clyde & Co has lost another insurance partner and team to Australian insurance-specialist law firm Wotton Kearney, becoming the fifth insurance team to leave the British firm in the past year. Jacques Jacobs and his team of six join Wotton Kearney’s Sydney office.
Financials:
2 Years After Paul Plevin Merger, Quarles & Brady’s Revenue Up More than 13%
The merger added roughly 55 people to Quarles’ team in 2022.
Polsinelli’s Revenue and Profits Surge Amid Partner De-Equitizations, Retirements
Practices like health care, real estate, labour and employment, and litigation were “clicking on all cylinders,” according to the CEO of the company, whose revenue was up 13%.
Akin, Baker Botts, Vinson & Elkins Are First Texas Big Law Firms to Match Milbank Bonuses
Since several Big Law firms have also made similar announcements, the three Texas-based homegrown firms that are all part of the Am Law 100 are paying the market rate for year-end plus unique bonuses set by Milbank.
Revenue Up at Homegrown Texas Firms Through Q3, Though Demand Slipped Slightly
According to Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group Nine-Month 2024 Survey Results, billing rates for domestic Texas businesses increased by 7.9% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to 2023, which is almost the industry’s rate increase of 9% during the same period.
Promotions & Appointments
Daniel Habib to Serve as Next Attorney-in-Charge of NY Federal Defender Appeals Unit
Habib has previously worked at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
People in the News—Nov. 26, 2024—Barley Snyder, McNees
Salvatore Anastasi, a partner at Barley Snyder and the chair of the intellectual property practice group, has been chosen as the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s (AIPLA) next president.
Weil Advances 18 to Partner, Largest Class Since 2021
The firm stuck to an approximately 50/50 split between New York and other offices.
Diversity & Inclusion:
By addressing the health, safety, and well-being of its employees, PepsiCo Beverages North America has improved employee progression and retention rates over the past year, demonstrating its support for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
How Qualcomm’s General Counsel Is Championing Diversity in Innovation
Ann Chaplin, general counsel at Qualcomm, stated, “I’ve discovered that it is always better to have more voices at the table, and to strive for an environment in which more people are encouraged to speak up.”
Office Openings & Closing:
Law Firm Real Estate Strategy: Attorney Offices Are Out, Conference Rooms Are In
Law firms’ approaches to office space are undergoing a paradigm shift. This change has changed how law firms handle their real estate demands. As flexible workplaces become more popular, businesses are seeing that when their attorneys do come into the office, the primary objective is to meet and engage with peers.
US Law Firm Leasing Up Nearly 30% Through Q3, with a Growing Number of Firms Staying in Place
Due to rising upgrade costs and a lack of high-quality space in certain core areas, most U.S. law firms who signed leases through Q3 of 2024 are expected to remain in their current locations, following a pattern that began in 2023.
Weil Grows Footprint in London
Joining the line of law firms looking for new office space in London are Weil and Herbert Smith Freehills.
Mayer Brown’s Hong Kong Split to Take Effect
While JSM will take over Vietnam, mainland China, and most of Hong Kong, Mayer Brown will keep about ten partners in Hong Kong and control of its offices in Singapore and Tokyo.
Simpson Thacher adds partners from A&O Shearman, Clifford Chance for Luxembourg launch.
The company is recruiting Clifford Chance’s Luxembourg co-head of investment funds and the Luxembourg co-head of funds at A&O Shearman.
Japan Big Four Firm Mori Hamada Launches Second US Office
Big Four Japanese firm Mori Hamada & Matsumoto is strengthening its U.S. presence by opening an office in the San Francisco Bay Area, following New York in 2023. Operations in San Francisco are scheduled to commence in 2025. The office will be led by two partners. Mikito Ishida and Stephen Overton.
Mergers & Alliances:
Baker McKenzie Accepts Defeat on Australian Integration with Firm’s Asia Practice
A partner vote opposing administrative and financial integration led to the conclusion.
BCLP Exploring Merger Prospects as Profitability Lags, Partnership Shrinks
The quest to form a global firm with a shared profit pool has resulted in some U.S. partner tensions.
Technology & Innovation:
AI Expected to Transform Legal Field Even More as Technologies Evolve
“The demand for legal services is increasing. “How will that need be met?” is the query. Prof. Richard Susskind, a globally renowned expert in the field of artificial intelligence, stated.
New Research Study Predicts Continued Growth for Generative AI in Legal
David Horrigan, the director of legal education and discovery counsel at Relativity, adds, “The study found that half of legal professionals increased their use of AI generally over the past two years.”
Litera Acquires Office & Dragons to Bolster its Drafting and Transact Offerings
The platform for automated document creation and editing is the most recent in Litera’s lengthy string of M&A transactions.
The Increase in Artificial Intelligence-Related Securities Class Actions
On March 24, 2020, the first-securities class action lawsuit pertaining to AI was filed. Since then, 38 filings pertaining to AI have been made. There were five lawsuits in 2020, eight in 2021, six in 2022, six in 2023, and thirteen in 2024 thus far.
Michelle Schapp and Frank Xavier Wukovits of CSG Law argue, “It is imperative to review the variables involved in the adequate planning of a data breach.”
Productivity Suite Startup Macro Announces $12 Million Funding Round
Macro wants to use AI to increase productivity by combining coding and PDFs into a one tool.
Market Commentary:
Stars and Gripes: Merging Firms Need a ‘Superstar Culture’ for US Success
If Herbert Smith Freehills and others wish to compete in America, they must take a Paul Weiss-style approach to concentrating on important people.
Transforming Dispute Processes in Law: The Impact of Large Language Models
This article examines the classification of “patent trolls” within the United States patent system.
The Essential Role of Partnership Agreements in Health Care Private Practices
A partnership agreement, which outlines the rights, obligations, financial interests, and expectations of co-owners, is a vital component of a successful practice’s ownership, governance, operation, and longevity.
Big Firms May See ‘Uncomfortable Flashbacks’ as Cost Pressure Grows
Wells Fargo’s Les Starck noted that “There continues to be quite a bit of expense pressure,” contributing to big firms pressing forward with billing rate increases.
Remote Work and Cybersecurity: Keeping Law Firm Data Safe Beyond the Office
According to Gregory Hoffman of Lindabury, “Remote work opens a variety of vulnerabilities that may not exist within a traditional office setting.”
Red Tape, Talent Wars & Pricey Office Space Greet Firms Entering Saudi Arabia
Strict hiring quotas, lengthy licensing processes, and intense competition for resources are putting businesses’ resolve to the test as they compete to enter the Kingdom.