Wake Up Call: A Nation of Lawyers Confronts an Engineering State

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

• America’s political and economic life is dominated by lawyers, and that legalistic mindset has shaped how the country responds to major challenges. Presidents and lawmakers tend to rely on lawsuits, tariffs, regulations, and procedural rules rather than building or producing at scale. China, on the other hand, is a country and economy dominated by engineers and scientists. (The Atlantic)
• Attorney General Pam Bondi ultimately sidelined her old friend and colleague Matt Gaetz to secure the nation’s top law enforcement job. Despite their years of political camaraderie in Florida Republican circles—and even serving as “godmother” to Gaetz’s dog—Bondi privately signaled that Gaetz, mired in misconduct allegations, was unfit for the role. (The New Yorker)
• California lawmakers are weighing whether Silicon Valley should finally house a public law school. A bill in the State Seante would let San Jose State University partner with a private school—likely Lincoln Law School—to offer joint degrees and certificates, aiming to serve working-class students who can only attend evening programs. (EdSource)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Michael Rechtin joined Latham & Watkins as a partner in its real estate practice and as a member of the interdisciplinary data center team in Chicago. He joins from DLA Piper.
• Arnav Joshi joined Perkins Coie as a partner in its corporate practice and technology transactions and privacy law practice in London. He joins from Clifford Chance.
• Eric Namrow joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as global chair of ITC and cross-border IP enforcement in Washington. He joins from Morgan Lewis.
• Jack Stratton joined Weil as a partner in its executive compensation and benefits group in Los Angeles. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Andrew Ong and Amadou Kilkenny Diaw joined King & Spalding as partners in its business litigation practice group. They join from Goodwin Procter.
• Varuna Bhattacharyya joined Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in its real estate finance practice in New York. She joins from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
• Nellie Camerik and Pejman Razavilar joined Pillsbury as partners in its real estate practice. They join from Weil.
• Michael Lutgring joined Standard Lithium as general counsel. He joins from Albemarle Corp.
• Daniel Johnson joined Littler Mendelson as a shareholder in Kansas City. He joins from Ogletree Deakins.
• Katie Custer joined Fisher Phillips as a partner in Denver. She joins from Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell.
• H. James Abe joined Buchalter as an intellectual property shareholder in Los Angeles. He joins from Alston & Bird.
• Jeff Miles joined Carlton Fields as a shareholder in its business litigation practice in Los Angeles. He joins from Frost LLP.