Wake Up Call: A&O Shearman Office Protest Leads to Five Arrests

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

• Five people were arrested after climate protesters entered A&O Shearman‘s London office. Members of climate group Extinction Rebellion stormed the firm’s lobby, sprayed the outside of the building with fake oil, and let off smoke bombs in a demonstration against the firm for “facilitating more than $285 billion in fossil fuel transactions,” according to a group spokesperson. (Law.com)
• Lawhive, a platform that helps consumers and subject matter experts find affordable lawyers using fixed fees, raised $40 million in a Series A funding. The round was co-led by existing investor Google Ventures and TQ Ventures, with participation from Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1, and Premier League players Harry Maguire and Reece James. (Artificial Lawyer)
• Foster Swift Collins & Smith, one of the largest law firms in Michigan, claims more than a decade of its client records and business files are being held “hostage” by Iron Mountain Information Management, its former document storage company, until it pays a ransom. (Lansing State Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Oliver Seiler and David Rath rejoined Latham & Watkins as partners in its capital markets practice in Frankfurt. They join from White & Case.
• Katarzyna Jakubiak joined DLA Piper as a partner in its international finance group in Poland. She joins from Deloitte Legal.
• Bijal Vakil joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a partner in its intellectual property litigation group in Palto Alto, Calif.
• M. Kathryn Stone joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a partner in its tax practice in Washington. She joins from Ropes & Gray.
• Benjamin Britz joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as a partner in Washington. He joins from Hughes Hubbard & Reed.
• Philipp Girardet joined Clifford Chance as a partner in its global antitrust group in London. He joins from Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
• Calise Cheng joined Freshfields as a partner in its capital markets group.
• Heather Brookfield joined Freshfields as a partner in its US employee benefits and executive compensation practice.