Wake Up Call: A Surprising Year for Law Firm Leadership Changes

• The departure of Latham & Watkins chair William Voge in a sexting scandal in March was probably the year’s most surprising leadership change. But there have been several others, including Kirkland & Ellis’ announcement this week that its chairman, Jeffrey Hammes, will step down in early 2020 and be replaced by private equity partner Jon Ballis to take over. (American Lawyer)

• The National Association of Law Placement dropped a recommendation that law firms give law students 28 days to take a summer associate offer, and another one barring firms from recruiting law students in their first semester. The changes are part of major revisions to its guidelines for summer recruiting. (Law.com)

• In a musical battle of Big Law firms, Quinn Emanuel and King Holmes Paterno couldn’t save entertainers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams from a California judge’s ruling that they must pay over $5 million for using part of a Marvin Gaye song in their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines.” Arnold & Porter, Wargo & French, and King & Ballow represented Marvin Gaye’s heirs. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

• Few expect the Justice Department to prevail in its attempt to undo AT&T Inc.'s completed $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc. But an appeals court judge might have provided the DOJ hope of a smaller legal victory. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

• The messy Senate confirmation process for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh convinced California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye to drop her Republican party affiliation, she told a California publication. (Calmatters.org)

• Littler client Tesla Inc. can force arbitration in a dispute by a former employee who claims he was demoted and ultimately fired for blowing the whistle on the company’s “illegal” business practices, a New Jersey federal judge ruled. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

• Lawyers for Pennsylvania state prisoner Bill Cosby filed an appeal of his sex assault conviction. (Page Six)

• In an unusual request, the Trump administration again asked the Supreme Court to leapfrog the lower courts over the legality of its ban on transgender military service. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)

Deals

• Shearman & Sterling said it advised French cabling-system manufacturer Nexans in its agreement to renew its 600 million ($677.7 million) euro revolving credit facility with 11 of its core banks for a period of five years. (Globenewswire.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• The conviction and jailing of President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen has some striking similarities with the case of President Richard Nixon’s attorney Herbert W. Kalmbach. (Time)

• A former Miami Beach city attorney faces a conflict-of-interest complaint over his solicitation of contracts with Miami-Dade municipalities for his law firm, Bryant Miller Olive, where he was recently hired to lead its municipal government practice. (Miami Herald)

Laterals, Moves, Promotions

• South Carolina-based Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough said its partners elected 24 attorneys, including eight women, to the partnership effective Jan. 1, 2019. (NelsonMullins.com)

• New York-based Olshan Frome Wolosky said it promoted six lawyers to partner, including two women, and one to counsel, all effective Jan. 1, 2019. (Olshan.com)

• Locke Lord said its Dallas of counsel George Bowles was named a fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers. (LockeLord.com)

• Comfort Systems USA, Inc. said Trent T. McKenna, currently SVP, general counsel and corporate secretary will move to a regional operations role, and Laura F. Howell will become VP, general counsel and corporate secretary, both effective Jan. 1. (Associated Press)

• French enterprise architecture and business software firm MEGA International hired veteran in-house lawyer Jean-Michel Chouteau as corporate general counsel, based in Paris. (BusinessWire.com)

• Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft elected five attorneys to partner, including two women, and nine to special counsel and counsel, of which three are women. (Cadwalader.com)

Legal Actions, Bankruptcies, Decisions

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is limited in what it can ask one of its expert witnesses in an upcoming disability discrimination trial against a Mississippi hospital operated by Wesley Health System LLC, a Mississippi federal judge ruled. Wesley Health is represented by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. (Bloomberg Law)

• Smithfield Foods had been hit with a total of about $550 million in damages in three smelly hog farm suits in North Carolina, but the verdict in the fourth one was for much less. McGuireWoods LLP and Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young LLP represented Smithfield. (Bloomberg Law via BLB)