Wake Up Call: Big Law Mergers Go Live to Kick Off New Year

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

• Call it Merger Monday. Frost Brown Todd and Gibbons P.C. announced that they completed a merger to become FBT Gibbons, creating a roughly 800-attorney, 25-office firm. Meanwhile, Cozen O’Connor said it officially acquired Moss & Barnett, adding more than 50 attorneys to the firm’s Minneapolis footprint.
• US law schools are set to face a challenging 2026 even with large amounts of applicants. They’ll have to navigate changing student loan rules, looming accreditation questions, and new bar exam and licensing frameworks, among other issues. (Reuters)
• The US Supreme Court is favoring the rich more, a new economic study found. The wealthier parties in cases won the Republican justices’ votes 70% of the time in 2022. That’s a stark increase from 45% in 1953. (The New York Times)
• Marc Elias, the Democracy Docket founder and an Elias Law Group partner, has big takes on Big Law’s activities during the Trump administration’s second term. These firms have “virtually disappeared from the fight for voting rights and free and fair elections” and have given their pro bono budgets to the president’s causes over his challengers'—with big implications for democracy, Elias writes. (Democracy Docket)

Laterals, Moves, In-House:

• Veteran white-collar defense lawyer Marc Mukasey is closing his boutique firm to join 1,000-lawyer Seyfarth Shaw.
• ServiceNow has hired Hossein Nowbar, most recently chief legal officer at Microsoft Corp., to be its president and top lawyer.
• Sara Margolis joined Latham & Watkins as a partner in its complex commercial litigation practice in New York. She joins from MoloLamken LLP.
• Rachel Kleinberg joined Gibson Dunn as a partner in its tax practice group in Palo Alto, Calif. She joins from Sidley Austin.
• Steve Moore joined Vinson & Elkins as a partner and co-head of the firm’s IP litigation practice in San Francisco. He joins from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.
• Stacy Fuller and Jesse Kean joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as partners in its asset management department. Fuller joined the Washington, DC office from K&L Gates, while Kean joined the New York office from Sidley Austin.
• Jeffrey Moerdler and Stephen Friedberg joined Haynes Boone as partners in its real estate practice group in New York. They join from Mintz Levin.
• Andre Monette joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in its environmental practice in San Diego and Washington, D.C.
• Tara Sullivan joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its West Coast land use and environmental group in San Francisco. She joins from Reuben, Junius & Rose.
• Rubina Ali joined White & Case as a partner in its global capital markets practice, derivatives practice and global financial institutions industry group in New York. She joins from Jones Day.
• Mark Passler and Ryan Harding joined Blank Rome as partners in its intellectual property and technology practice group and will establish a presence in West Palm Beach. They join from Akerman LLP.
• Atif Azher has been named managing partner of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP‘s Bay Area locations.