Freshfields Picks Up Justice Department Antitrust Litigator

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is expanding again, this time bringing on Department of Justice Antitrust Division trial attorney Julie Elmer as a partner in Washington.

Antitrust Litigation: Elmer joined the DOJ’s antitrust division in 2015 where she became one of its top trial lawyers, leading the efforts in U.S. v. Energy Solutions, Inc. and U.S. v. Sabre. She also played significant roles on its trial teams in U.S. v. AT&T/Time Warner and U.S. v. United Continental.

Rapid Expansion: The Magic Circle firm has been in growth mode across the Atlantic since it brought on a four-lawyer team from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton last fall. Earlier this month, the firm opened a new office in Silicon Valley with a group of lawyers from other Big Law firms and separately hired Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s former business and corporate litigation practice group chair Mary Eaton. Meghan Tribe has the story.

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe to our Business & Practice newsletter and get the best of our content delivered to your Inbox every morning.

DAILY BRIEF

Law Firms

Black Davis Polk Lawyer Says ‘Justice’ Backs More Discovery Time
A Black former Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP attorney suing for alleged race bias and retaliation told a federal court the “interests of justice” support his bid for more time to serve discovery requests on the firm even if Covid-19 doesn’t provide good cause for his prior missed deadline, court records show.

Jones Day Women Say Evidence to Date Backs Equal Pay Class Push
A group of female lawyers suing Jones Day for alleged sex discrimination in pay and other key decision-making told a federal judge the evidence exchanged by the parties so far backs their request for conditional certification of an Equal Pay Act collective action, court records show.

Business of Law

Kirkland Represents KPS Capital in Lawn Mower Company Asset Buy
Kirkland & Ellis advised private equity firm KPS Capital Partners, LP on its deal to buy most of the assets of lawn mower giant Briggs & Stratton Corp. for about $550 million, the firm said.

In House

Amazon, Google Tap Big Law to Bolster In-House Ranks
Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC have hired a pair of public policy experts to expand their antitrust and energy capabilities.

Judiciary

Court Reopening Plans Face Pushback as Coronavirus Surges
Some courts are pumping the brakes on reopening efforts as Covid-19 cases and deaths rise throughout much of the U.S., while others face pushback from lawyers over resuming in-person operations.

Ethics

Sanction Lifted for Lawyer Who Prosecuted Penn State Abuse Case
A federal judge lifted a lawyer’s suspension in Delaware after finding no reason that a similar sanction in Pennsylvania over conduct in prosecuting a case related to the Penn State child sex abuse scandal should be reciprocal.

Follow Bloomberg Law’s global coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on our Coronavirus Outbreak channel, and track the latest changes in the federal court operations with our interactive map.

WAKE-UP CALL

Lat Presents Roster of New SCOTUS Clerk Hires
In today’s column, a judge in Yahoo!'s data breach class action rejected class counsel’s $30 million fee request; several Big Law firms advised as EBay Inc. agreed to sell its online classifieds business to a Norway-based company that beat out a private equity consortium for the deal; three big London law firms turned in very different results for their fiscal year that closed April 30; even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Big Law firms want to move into Northern California; and Akin Gump joined a challenge to the lead counsel in a decades-old landmark settlement on care of detained immigrant children.

PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS

INSIGHT: Trademark Rights Still Intact After High Court Booking.com Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that a generic word combined with ".com” can create a federally protectable trademark. But Mayer Brown attorneys say that all brand owners should be aware that the Booking.com decision did not change the requirements for establishing trademark rights, or, once established, the scope of those rights.

INSIGHT: Celebrities and Paparazzi Battle It Out Over Social Media Copyright
Celebrities like Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lopez have been sued by photographers for using their photos to promote product lines on social media. New York attorney Elizabeth Vulaj looks at the copyright allegations and fair use issues that are involved in these cases.

INSIGHT: Three B2B Sales Strategies Can Help Law Firms During Covid-19
Law firms need to go on the offensive in business development by embracing innovations adopted by other business-to-business (B2B) sales industries, sales consultant David Hirsch says. He offers three steps—video pitching, solution sales, focusing on long-term relationships—to improve business now and into the future.

INSIGHT: CEQ Makes Sweeping Changes to NEPA Rules Impacting Environmental Reviews
Dorsey & Whitney LLP partner Thaddeus R. Lightfoot examines the final rule from the Trump administration’s Council on Environmental Quality making the most sweeping changes to the National Environmental Policy Act since its beginning in 1978. He says portions of the rule undermine NEPA’s goal of placing consideration of a project’s environmental effects on the same level as economic and other considerations.

WORKFLOWS

Steptoe & Johnson added William Keyser as a partner to the Energy Group in Washington from K&L Gates | Skadden’s Washington office added Brooks Allen, a former assistant general counsel in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), as a counsel in its CFIUS and National Security practice; and Tatiana Sullivan, who will join the CFIUS and National Security practice as a senior associate in September 2020 | Goodwin Procter hired Pircher Nichols & Meeks real estate partner Alex Jacobs in Los Angeles | DLA Piper added cyber response and investigations specialist Erik Harssema as a managing director in the Data Protection, Privacy, and Security practice in New York | Former California federal cyber crimes prosecutor Ryan White joined L.A.-based Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg as a partner | Korein Tillery announced the arrival of Jamie Boyer as a partner in St. Louis from Stinson LLP | Rimon Law hired Corporate attorney Greg Krafka as a partner in its new Houston office; he joins from Winstead PC.

Alexa users, now you can add Bloomberg Law’s top stories of the day to your Flash Briefing or tell Alexa to “Play Bloomberg Law news.”

If you haven’t already, be sure to follow Bloomberg Law on Twitter, Flipboard, LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook and Telegram.