Wake Up Call: Abortion Defense Group Links Rights Orgs, Big Law

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

• The new Abortion Defense Network said Arnold & Porter, O’Melveny & Myers, and Paul Weiss are among law firms teaming up with abortion rights organizations in its effort to offer legal resources to patients and providers facing arrest, prosecution, or other legal action related to abortion. (Reuters)
• O’Melveny represented investment bank B. Riley Securities acting as sole bookrunner underwriting Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s recent public equity offering, which is part of the home goods retailer’s effort to raise around $1 billion to avoid bankruptcy. O’Melveny said its deal team advising B. Riley was led by partners Jeeho Lee, C. Brophy Christensen, Dave Johnson, and Alex Anderson. (OMM.com)
• Facing an uncertain economic climate, law firms have been negotiating more fixed and contingency fee arrangements with their clients. (American Lawyer)
• Former FTX.com CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s unconventional public defense against criminal fraud charges has included starting a Substack newsletter, being active on Twitter, and giving media interviews. (WSJ)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Fort Lauderdale-based Greenspoon Marder posted revenues up 16.4% to a record $175.4 million in 2022. Its average profits per equity partner climbed 8.8% to $830,000, according to a report based on early data. (Daily Business Review)
• Deputy general counsel are feeling stressed or burned out in their jobs while not getting opportunities to develop skills they need to move up, according to a recent survey by legal talent platform Axiom. (Axiom)
• A New York judge upheld an arbitrator’s decision that awarded $224,000 in unpaid fees to a former Holland & Knight partner, but the attorney also has to pay nearly $670,000 in attorney fees and costs to his ex-firm. (ABA Journal)
• Lawmakers in Colorado and at least six other states are considering dropping legal protections for the gun industry. (Associated Press)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Selendy Gay Elsberg, the litigation boutique founded five years ago, said Jan. 6 committee senior investigative counsel Temidayo Aganga-Williams will join the firm Feb. 27. The firm says it has over 60 lawyers. (SelendyGay.com)
• Eversheds Sutherland recruited Steptoe & Johnson (DC) securities enforcement attorney Elizabeth Baird, former deputy director of the Securities and Exchange Commission trading and markets division, as litigation partner in Washington. She was earlier at Morgan Lewis as Washington office co-managing partner and before that worked as a Wall Street bond trader. (Eversheds-Sutherland.com)
• Greenberg Traurig hired litigator Sheila Oretsky as shareholder in Miami. She arrives from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, where she was co-chair of its class action litigation practice. (GTLaw.com)
• Loeb & Loeb snagged Arnold & Porter real estate investments and transactions lawyer Adam Hirst as a partner in New York. (Loeb.com)
• Duane Morris appointed construction law partners Vijay Bange in London and Owen Newman in Chicago as co-chairs of the international arbitration division within its global trial practice group. (DuaneMorris.com) Saul Ewing appointed two office managing partners, naming litigation partner Jared Hawk to lead the firm’s Pittsburgh office and trial lawyer Joseph Lipchitz to head its Boston office. (Saul.com
• WeWork Inc. promoted Pam Swidler, its senior vice president, global head of real estate, Americas & international legal, to chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary. She replaces Jared DeMatteis, who left the company for other opportunities, according to a filing. (SEC.gov)
• Home loan servicer company Mr. Cooper Group Inc. hired veteran financial services in-house leader Carlos M. Pelayo as executive vice president and chief legal officer. He most recently was managing director and legal executive for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, a division of Bank of America. (Businesswire)