Wake Up Call: Big Law Flees Shanghai as Financial Activity Drops

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

• Latham & Watkins, Perkins Coie, Orrick, and Sidley Austin have each closed their Shanghai offices, or said they will close them, as “a dearth of financial activity and depressed business sentiment” forces the firms to reassess their presence in mainland China. In Shanghai, the impact has been “particularly acute” for the legal sector. (Financial Times)
• Atiba Adams has been named Krispy Kreme, Inc.'s next chief legal officer, effective June 25. Adams, who has a particular “expertise in the sweet treat industry,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth, has more than two decades of legal experience at companies such as Mars Global Chocolate, and most recently, Bausch + Lomb. (Business Wire)
• Baker McKenzie’s former United Arab Emirates partner law firm, Habib Al Mulla and Partners, is “set” to become the first Arab law firm to establish a presence in Russia, despite its aggression toward Ukraine and the resulting sanctions. Before Baker McKenzie had shut down its Russia operations in 2022, the firm “had long been seen as a ‘go-to’ firm for Kremlin-linked companies.” (Law.com)
• Orlando, Florida attorney John Morgan of the mega-personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan is throwing his weight behind Amendment 3, the Florida ballot measure that would legalize adult use of recreational cannabis. His willingness to be the “voice” of the campaign is significant because he’s previously spent millions of his own dollars to legalize medical marijuana in the state. (Marijuana Moment)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Bernd Bohr has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner with its banking and finance team in London. He joins from Mayer Brown.
• Robert Lamkin has joined Eversheds Sutherland’s global energy group as a partner in Washington and New York. He joins from McDermott Will & Emery.
• Chris Duffy has joined King & Spalding as a partner in its business litigation practice group in New York. He joins from Vinson & Elkins.
• Seth Kruglak has joined McGuireWoods’ litigation practice as a partner in New York. He joins from Norton Rose Fulbright.
• Kris Spiro has joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani in San Francisco as a partner with its insurance practice.
• Erik Carlson has joined Alston & Bird’s intellectual property litigation group as a partner in its Los Angeles office.
• Bill Di Bianca and Jordan Riviello have joined Polsinelli as shareholders in the firm’s mechanical engineering and medical devices patent prosecution practice in New York.