Wake Up Call: BlackRock Hires Paul, Weiss to Probe ‘Misconduct’

In today’s column, over a half dozen U.S., Canadian, and Mexican law firms are advising in Canadian Pacific Railways Ltd.’s $25 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern to create a rail company that runs from Canada to Mexico; Big Law and accounting firms are worried that pandemic burnout will cost them their younger lawyers and consultants; meanwhile, Orrick is giving lawyers and staff an extra 40 hours of paid leave to “unplug.”

• Leading off, asset management giant BlackRock, Inc. hired Paul, Weiss to conduct an internal investigation into reported allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment at the company. (Institutional Investor)
• Big accounting firms and some Big Law firms have benefited from soaring demand for their advice during the Covid-19 pandemic, but leaders at the firms say they’re worried that the load on their younger lawyers and consultants toiling long hours remotely from home could lead many to quit. (Financial Times) Meanwhile, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe said it’s giving its lawyers and staff an extra 40 hours of paid leave per year to “unplug,” and it’s planning to reopen offices. (American Lawyer)
• Orrick reported that its revenue declined by 0.5% to $1.153 billion in 2020 as court closings caused by Covid-19 slowed its litigation practices. The firm’s profits per equity partner, on the other hand, jumped 10.9% to $2.52 million. (American Lawyer)
• Mayer Brown’s transactional and litigation practices contributed to a 2.2% gain in gross revenues to $1.517 billion in 2020, according to a report based on preliminary data. The firm’s profits per equity partner surged 10.7%, compared with 2019, to slightly over $2 million, as its equity partnership contracted 4% and nonequity partnership rose close to 6%. (American Lawyer)
• Dechert’s $1.071 billion in gross revenues and $2.831 million in PEP in 2020 were both 5.7% less than their record marks in 2019, as the pandemic hit the firm’s trial and capital practices early in the year. The firm said both practices recovered in the year’s second half. (American Lawyer)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Several U.S., Canadian, and Mexican law firms are advising in Canadian Pacific Railways Ltd.’s $25 billion acquisition of Kansas City Southern to create the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada rail network, one of the year’s biggest deals. (Bloomberg News via BLAW) Sullivan & Cromwell is among firms advising Canadian Pacific. Wachtell; Baker & Miller; WilmerHale; and White & Case are among the U.S. firms advising Kansas City Southern, according to a statement. Willkie Farr & Gallagher said it’s advising BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, which are serving as financial advisors to Kansas City Southern. (Businesswire.com)
• Covington & Burling advised the National Football League on long-term media distribution agreements with media partners including Amazon, CBS, ESPN/ABC, Fox, and NBC for the distribution of NFL games over television and digital platforms, as well as additional media rights. The deals are worth billions of dollars overall, according to reports. (The Hollywood Reporter) (Financial Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Reed Smith poached corporate dealmakers Edward Rhyne, Robert Phillpott, Efren Acosta, and Ron Scharnberg from Baker Botts as partners in Houston. They bring expertise in private equity, M&A, and business tax. (ReedSmith.com) Greenberg Traurig added Jones Day intellectual property and life sciences attorney David Gay as a shareholder in Los Angeles. (Finance.Yahoo.com)
• Troutman Pepper Hamlton Sanders lost three international trade litigation partners to intellectual property boutique Desmarais in Washington, which said it’s opening a new office in the city; Troutman Pepper lost three more lawyers in Orange County, California, where Blank Rome grabbed two partners and one associate specialized in cybersecurity and data privacy for an office it plans to open in the location later this year. Blank Rome said new partner Sharon Klein will chair its privacy, security and data protection practice. She is joined by partner Alex C. Nisenbaum and associate Karen H. Shin. (BlankRome.com)
• GoldenTree Asset Management hired the former top lawyer of investment-software company Allvue Systems, Roman Bejger, to replace its longtime general counsel Barry Ritholz, who is retiring; Baker McKenzie named Mexico City-based real estate partner Juan Bernardo Garcia to be global chair of the firm’s real estate practice effective July 1. He’s stepping up from his role as Latin America real estate practice chair and his term as Monterrey, Mexico, managing partner ends June 30. (BakerMcKenzie.com)