Wake Up Call: Big Law Takes Sides in Rupert Murdoch Family Fight

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

• Cravath’s Gary Bornstein is representing three of Rupert Murdoch’s children in a “secret legal battle” in a fight with the media mogul over control of the family empire. Murdoch, who has made his oldest son Lachlan the chosen successor, is represented by Sheppard Mullin’s Adam Streisand. (The New York Times)
• Lawyers for Hunter Biden were threatened with sanctions by a federal judge who says they made false statements in a court filing. The attorneys, including California litigator Mark Geragos, are defending Biden on charges he failed to pay at least $1.4 million in back taxes. (The Associated Press)
• Venable LLP is launching a product aimed at combating deepfake videos and images online. It was launched by Venable Blue, the firm’s consulting arm. (Variety)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• David Wang joined Cooley as chief innovation officer. He joins from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosat.
• Jeffrey Stern joined Reed Smith as a partner in its financial industry group. He joins from Winston & Strawn.
• Mark Auten joined Clark Hill as a member in its tax and estate planning practice in Collin County, Texas.
• Jennifer Becnel-Guzzo returned to Saul Ewing as a higher education litigation partner in Wilmington, Del.