Wake Up Call: Big Law Firms Help Chinese Shipper Get U.S. Sanctions Lifted

In today’s column, Mayer Brown grabbed a top energy partner from Locke Lord in Houston; legal services marketplace UpCounsel is reported to be shutting down; and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says law firms aren’t doing enough to accommodate female lawyers who are also raising children.

• Leading off, Blank Rome and Latham & Watkins helped get U.S. sanctions lifted against Dalian, a unit of China’s biggest shipping company COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation, Ltd. Dalian had been accused of hauling Iranian crude in violation of American restrictions. The U.S. Treasury Department last week said it had lifted sanctions against the subsidiary. (Bloomberg News via BLAW) (BlankRome.com)

• Jenner & Block hired Boies Schiller Flexner partner Lee Wolosky, who was a crisis manager and litigation partner at his former firm. Earlier in his career, Wolosky was an Obama-appointed envoy and held national security roles under three U.S. Presidents. Boies Schiller partner Dawn Smalls, who served in the Obama and Clinton administrations, made the move with him. (BLAW)

• Mayer Brown added energy lawyerPhilip Lau as as corporate & securities partner in Houston, as part of its plan to expand in the oil and gas sector. Lau previously spent 18 years at Locke Lord, most recently as co-chair of that firm’s construction law practice group. His practice centers on energy-related commercial transactions and construction, primarily in the midstream and downstream segments. According to his LinkedIn, he’s a former Singapore police inspector. (MayerBrown.com)

• A group of 47 former partners of the shuttered firm Sedgwick will soon pay $1.9 million of their former compensation and capital payments to settle claims stemming from a bankruptcy plan accepted by a federal judge. Nineteen other partners who did not settle could still face a legal battle with creditors seeking to claw back payments from the San Francisco-founded firm, which went bankrupt in October 2018. (BLAW)

• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said law firms are “have not yet been sufficiently accommodating” for female lawyers with children and that is holding back progress on achieving work-life balance and gender equality. (National Law Journal)

• Arizona officials have moved closer toward becoming the state the first to scrap law firm ownership rules in an effort to increase access to justice. (BLAW)

• Labor unions’ favorite Democratic presidential candidate to donate to is Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. On the other hand, former Vice President Joe Biden is the top choice for campaign donations from lawyers who work at major law firms known for their anti-union work, a report says. (The Intercept)

• The Republican controlled Senate voted to bar witnesses in President Trump’s impeachment trial, but the senators “are not off the hook,” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said. (Politico)

• A fight has broken out among Sanford Heisler Sharp, Robbins Gellar Rudman & Dowd, and other plaintiffs firms representing General Electric employees in their Massachusetts federal lawsuit against GE over the affiliated investment funds in the company’s 401(k). (BLAW)

• UpCounsel, an online marketplace for legal services, is shutting down its site, according to a report. (ArtificialLawyer.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Weil, Gotshal & Manges said it will reimburse its U.S. employees for costs linked to adoption and fertility treatments. The move expands its so-called concierge services, which other Big Law firms have also been offering. (American Lawyer)

• The founder of litigation finance company Oasis Financial asked a judge t reinstate his lawsuit against Kirkland & Ellis and Littler Mendelson, accusing the firms and two lawyers of rigging the $71 million sale of his company. A judge dismissed the case after after the plaintiff’s attorney missed a key court date. (American Lawyer)

• How litigation finance works. Video. (BLAW)

• San Francisco-based Hanson Bridgett elected the first female managing partner of its 60-plus year history: land use and environmental law attorney Kristina Lawson. She joined the firm as a lateral hire from Manatt in 2017, and takes over as MP from trial lawyer Andrew Giacomini, who is stepping down after nearly 20 years in the role. (Businesswire.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Clark Hill added senior sounsel Jason Schwent in the firm’s cybersecurity, data protection & privacy group in Chicago. Schwent was of counsel at Lathrop Gage and prior to that was a partner at Thompson Coburn. (ClarkHill.com)

• Prospero Health, a home-based care and support company headquartered in Boston, hired former Ropes & Gray litigator Annmarie A. Tenn as general counsel. She was most recently chief of staff and vice president for business strategy at Elliot Health System in New Hampshire. (UnionLeader.com)

• Brown Rudnick promoted six lawyers (one woman) to partner, effective Feb. 1, across its Boston, Hartford, London, New York, and Paris offices and five practice areas. (BrownRudnick)

In Court

• Fallen movie mogul Harvey Weinstein went from Jekyll, to Hyde, to rapist, one-time aspiring actor Jessica Mann told jurors in Weinstein’s criminal rape trial in New York. (BN)