Wake Up Call: Big Law Does Poorly With Climate, Students Say

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

• Big Law firms are increasing efforts to combat climate change, but many continue to heavily support fossil fuel interests, resulting in widespread failing grades in a report from Law Students for Climate Accountability. The scorecard, which evaluates the most prestigious law firms on their climate impact, found that 71% earned a D or F, largely due to extensive lobbying and litigation on behalf of the oil and gas industry. (E&E)
• Big Law’s failure to collectively resist President Donald Trump’s retaliatory executive orders has created a crisis of independence, driven by firms prioritizing business interests over constitutional principles, former Skadden associates Rachel Cohen and Kevin Cope write. Cohen and Cope say that moral appeals alone are ineffective and that only coordinated, material consequences—like targeted firm boycotts by junior lawyers—can shift firm behavior. (Slate)
• The Committee for Public Counsel Services plans to file a judicial misconduct complaint after an attorney was held in contempt and jailed for several hours during a routine court appearance, allegedly due to nervous movements while addressing the bench. Despite eventually dropping the contempt charge, the judge in the case defended his actions. (Minnesota Lawyer)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Liz Downing joined Milbank as a partner in its financial restructuring group in New York. She joins from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
• Lisa Lipman joined FisherBroyles as a partner in its private client services team in Naples, Fla. She joins from Roetzel & Andress.