Wake Up Call: Latham Okays ‘Super Points’ to Pass $20M Pay Mark

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

• Latham & Watkins’ partners have approved the use of “super points” in its pay system to allow stars to take home more than $20 million per year, amid a “fierce pay battle” among elite US firms. Major firms are also using defensive measures to hold onto their partners, including Kirkland & Ellis, which approved a policy on Tuesday that will allow the firm to cut payouts to departing partners. (Financial News)
• London has been the focus of a “significant expansion” of US firms like White & Case that focus on private equity work, resulting in offices that have “become powerhouses in their own right” and are almost as big as their NYC headquarters locations by headcount. One price is being paid by London lawyers at offices like Kirkland & Ellis, who work average days of 12 hours and 28 minutes for the millions they earn. (Financial Times)
• Husch Blackwell’s virtual, “work-from-anywhere” office called The Link has been a hit, says CEO Jamie Lawless, one of more than 700 members. A key is that it’s run like a brick-and-mortar office, complete with a managing partner and a deputy, an office administrator, and committee heads. “We are leaning into flexibility and remote work at a time when not all firms are doing it, and we have benefited from it,” she said. (Above The Law)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Tracy Combs joined Greenberg Traurig as a white collar defense and investigations partner in their San Francisco office.
• Katherine Erbeznik joined Winston & Strawn as a partner in the firm’s New York office and transactions department and tax practice.
• Jill Nicholson joined Dentons in their restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy practice as a partner resident in its Chicago office.
• B.K. Lee joined Alston & Bird’s finance group and structured and warehouse finance team as a partner in New York City.
• Hilary Lane joined Ballard Spahr as a partner in their business and transactions department and privacy and data security and media and entertainment law groups. She joins from Holland & Knight.
• Abraham Smith joined Holland & Hart as a partner in the Las Vegas office.
• Michael Shonafelt joined Buchalter as a shareholder in its Los Angeles office and member of their real estate practice group.
• Virginia Bruner joined Williams Mullen as a partner in its litigation section in the firm’s Richmond, Virginia office.