Wake Up Call: Winston & Strawn Announces D’Amore as New Leader

Welcome to Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call, a daily rundown of the top news for lawyers, law firms, and in-house counsel.

• Winston & Strawn said Steve D’Amore, the Chicago-based global co-chair of the litigation department, is the chair-elect of the firm. The veteran of more than 30 years at the firm will take over next June after Tom Fitzgerald steps down from the chair role. (Winston & Strawn)
• Jason Torchinsky, a partner with the Virginia law firm Holtzman Vogel, has joined a crowded field exploring whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the election ballot. Torchinsky, who has represented the Republican National Committee, is researching the issue for Jacob Harriman, founder of More Perfect Union. (Washington Post)
• Marnie Jensen, a Husch Blackwell lawyer, is advising the Nebraska Legislature on how it can oversee the state’s child welfare and prison systems after an attorney general opinion said lawmakers’ current approach violates separation of powers. Jensen will help “craft a constitutionally sound long-term solution,” Speaker of the Legislature John Arch said. (Nebraska Examiner)
• The 2026 bar exam will shorten by about three hours compared with the current test, as new questions that more precisely measure knowledge and skills bring efficiency gains. The new test will be nine hours over a day and a half, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners. (Reuters)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Martin Mackowski has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner with the competition and antitrust practice in Washington, D.C. He was associate general counsel, competition, and regulatory, at Meta Platforms, Inc.
• Jena Watson has joined ArentFox Schiff in the real estate and municipal bond practices in the San Francisco office. She was senior vice president, associate general counsel and associate corporate secretary at HomeStreet Bank.
• Womble Bond Dickinson has opened a new office in Denver, Colo., with the addition of partners Scot Anderson and Ana Maria Gutiérrez. They previously practiced at Hogan Lovells.
• Katz Banks Kumin has merged with California-based firm, Liu Peterson-Fisher, adding Jennifer Liu and Rebecca Peterson-Fisher as partners.
• Lisa R. Crowley has joined Gordon & Rees as a partner with the employment law practice group in San Diego, Calif.
• Jacqueline A. Brooks has joined Duane Morris as a partner in the corporate practice group in Baltimore, Md. She was a partner at Saul Ewing.
• Kevin Brown has joined Brown Rudnick as a partner in the tax group in the New York office.
• Dwight Jones has been named chief financial officer of Hunton Andrews Kurth.