Wake Up Call: Baker McKenzie Probes Brussels Office Bias Claims

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

• Baker McKenzie’s Brussels office managing partner Daniel Fesler stepped down temporarily while the firm investigates a former lawyer’s allegations that she faced discrimination while working at the firm, according to a report. (Global Legal Post) The former attorney said the discrimination included colleagues using racial slurs, touching her hair, and asking whether a photo of her family was “a rap album cover,” Legal Cheek reported. (Legal Cheek)
• The pandemic caused some women lawyers at Big Law firms to realize they’d be happier at smaller firms. (Financial Times)
• The pandemic also accelerated a trend toward “generational conflicts” in law firms over how lawyers of different ages disagree about such basic things as how and where work should get done. (American Lawyer)
• Dechert poached an international team of antitrust partners from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. The team includes partners John (“Jay”) Jurata in Washington, Russell Cohen in San Francisco, and Douglas Lahnborg in London, Dechert said. (Dechert)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Reed Smith appointed two attorneys to new leadership roles in Texas. It named trial lawyer Chris Watt office managing partner in Houston to take over from commercial litigation partner Ken Broughton. Both Watt and Broughton were founding members of the Houston office in 2013. Reed Smith named Chapter 11 and restructuring lawyer Omar Alaniz as Dallas OMP to take over from trial attorney Brian Mitchell. Alaniz is the US chair of Reed Smith’s LGBTQ+ business inclusion group, PRISM. (ReedSmith.com)
• Despite their court setbacks on business interruption cases related to Covid-19, businesses continue to litigate to try to force insurers to pay their pandemic claims. (WSJ)
• Former Manhattan special assistant district attorney Mark Pomerantz, who investigated Donald Trump, argues that the district attorney has evidence he could use to bring criminal charges against the former president. (CNN) In his new book, “People vs. Donald Trump, An Inside Account,” Pomerantz compares Trump to mob boss John Gotti. (New York Times) A state prosecutors group accused Pomerantz of violating professional standards of judicial conduct. (WaPo)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft grabbed two compliance partners from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, including the chair of Willkie’s compliance and enforcement practice, Martin Weinstein, and former federal prosecutor Jeff Clark. (LinkedIn.com)
• DLA Piper brought in former UN corporate legal adviser Benedetta Audia as a partner and chair of the firm’s new international development practice. (DLAPiper.com)
• Vedder Price snagged longtime Bryan Cave labor and employment partner Hope Goldstein as a shareholder. (VedderPrice.com)
• Paul Hastings picked up Sidley Austin capital markets lawyer Steven Hsu as a partner in Hong Kong. (PaulHastings.com)
• Barnes & Thornburg expanded in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, adding McCarter & English insurance recovery attorney Brett Kahn as a partner in Morristown, New Jersey, plus four associates from various practices and staff across the two states. Barnes & Thornburg also hired intellectual property attorney Chris Hoff as a partner in Minneapolis. He joins from Fish & Richardson, where he was principal. (BTLaw.com)
• Dykema added former insurance industry in-house data and cybersecurity attorney Kimberly Holmes as senior counsel in Chicago. (Dykema)
• Management-side worklaw firm Littler Mendelson promoted employment defense litigator Angela Healy to program director of its CaseSmart platform. (Littler.com) Effective Jan. 1, Jones Walker elected eight lawyers to partner. It also elected two partners to its board of directors. (JonesWalker.com)

Technology

• A US-based advisory firm is suing Twitter in New York state court for what it says are about $1.9 million in unpaid bills for advice since Elon Musk acquired the company last year. (Reuters)