Wake Up Call: Arizona Nonlawyer Program Catching ‘Street’s Eye’

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

• Three years after Arizona launched its Alternative Business Structures program that allows non-lawyers to own law firms and other legal businesses, the program is “catching Wall Street’s eye.” About 40% of the businesses so far have been backed by private equity or hedge funds, one program committee member said. (Wall Street Journal)
• Squire Patton Boggs has been sued for failing to pay the rent for the firm’s former Moscow office, shuttered soon after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A Dutch developer says the firm owes $138,000 plus interest. (Reuters)
• Edelson PC has brought on Daily Show correspondent Bob Wiltfong to be its new director of communication and impact, a hire that “actually makes a lot of sense the more you think about it.” Wiltfong will direct firm PR and will supply content to Edelson Creative, which creates, among other things “Disney spoofs about class actions.” (Above The Law)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• James Ferrara has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as a partner in the business litigation practice in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He previously served as a circuit court judge in Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County.
• Paul Hibbert and Emma Serginson will join Simpson Thacher as partners in the London office. They join from Weil Gotshal.
• Nicholas J. Diamond has joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the health care and FDA practice in the Houston, Texas, office. He joins from Jackson Walker.
• Raj Patel has joined Faegre Drinker as a partner in the construction and real estate litigation group in Chicago.
• Anne Wang and Lauren Schneider have joined Frost Brown Todd as partners in its intellectual property practice group in the Los Angeles office.
• Jonathan Hamilton has joined Paul Hastings as a partner in Washington, D.C., and as global co-chair of its international arbitration practice. He joins from White & Case.
• Edward Taelman has joined Crowell & Moring’s intellectual property practice group as a partner in Brussels. He joins from Allen & Overy.
• Kiran Uppal has joined Dorsey & Whitney as of counsel with the tax, trusts, and estates group in Seattle.