Wake Up Call: Bryan Cave Suspends Partner Nabbed in Child Sex Sting

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

• Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has reportedly put on “indefinite leave” partner Daniel Waxman, whose LinkedIn profile says he led the New York office’s tort group. The firm suspended Waxman after New York police arrested him when he arrived at a location to meet a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He allegedly arranged to meet the person for sexual contact. (New York Law Journal)
• Eckert Seamans said it’s laying off around 2% of its staff, with the cuts mainly affecting its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices. (Above The Law) (Legal Intelligencer) Eckert joins a lengthening list of firms making cuts, following Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s announcement of 47 jobs cut last month. (BLAW)
• Paul Hastings said it advised on a firm record $50-plus billion over nearly 100 deals in 2023’s first quarter, with that value up “by 100%” compared with 2022’s first quarter. (PaulHastings.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Kirkland & Ellis said it has moved its Salt Lake City location to a new 515,000-square-foot office tower, where it occupies around 100,000 square feet across four floors. The move to the building, connected by pedestrian tunnel to city shopping, dinning, culture, and sports venues, shows Kirkland’s commitment to its talent in Salt Lake City, the firm said. (Kirkland.com)
• Lewis Roca said it relocated its Bay Area office from Silicon Valley to San Francisco’s financial district to be closer to clients. (LewisRoca.com)
• Alston & Bird in 2022 was Atlanta’s biggest firm by head count for a second-straight year, beating rival King & Spalding which has focused on growth elsewhere, according to a report. (Daily Report Online)
• Polsinelli PC named shareholder Ruben Chuquimia as new office managing partner in St. Louis. Chuquimia, who among other things serves as vice chair of the firm’s securities and corporate finance practice group, takes over as OMP from shareholder Jane Arnold. She was appointed co-chair of Polsinelli’s business department at the end of 2022. (Polsinelli.com)
• Barnes & Thornburg named white collar criminal defense partner Eric Beste, a former federal prosecutor, as new partner-in-charge of its San Diego office. Beste succeeds office founder Troy Zander, who plans to focus on his venture and direct lending finance practice. (BTLaw.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration hired former US associate deputy attorney general Iris Lan to be its new general counsel, effective immediately. (Nasa.gov)
• Holland & Knight recruited former US Department of Energy Department attorney Ken Cestari as partner in its public policy and regulation group. Cestari, who was deputy chief counsel in the DOE’s loan programs office, arrives recently from Azimuth Legal Group. Holland & Knight also picked up former Duane Morris tax and private wealth attorney David Hryck as partner in New York. (HKLaw.com)
• Entertainment and business law firm Eisner, LLP added corporate lawyer Natalie Chitayat as partner in Los Angeles. She joins from Milbank LLP. (EisnerLaw.com)
• Technology services and consulting company Unisys Corporation said in an SEC filing that Claudius Sokenu, its senior vice president, general counsel, corporate secretary and chief administrative officer, is leaving the company effective June 30. Deputy GC Michelle Jones will replace him temporarily until a replacement is found. (SEC.gov)
• Smiths Group, a UK industrial technology company, promoted divisional GC James Down, a former Hogan Lovells associate, to group general counsel based in London. (Smiths.com)

Legal Education

• The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law said University of Montana law professor Sam Panarella, who’s also executive director of the Max S. Baucus Institute, a public policy center, will become UMass Law’s next dean on July 18. (UMass.edu)