Wake Up Call: California Bar to Ask for Annual Dues Hike of $150

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

• The State Bar of California is seeking to increase its annual dues from the state’s licensed attorneys by $150. The agency says the steep dues hike is key to keeping itself afloat, as it faces a projected $24 million deficit in 2025. (Reuters)
• Kirkland & Ellis has laid off at least nine capital markets attorneys that had worked at its three China offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing. Hong Kong partner Mengyu Lu said at a Feb. 26 team meeting on that some associates were being laid off because of market conditions and the size of the team. (Law.com)
• A Muslim civil rights lawyer from Columbus, Ohio has forfeited his law license after he was accused of spying on former colleagues with the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Roman Iqbal allegedly shared information regarding the group’s national advocacy work with a another group called the Investigative Project on Terrorism. (Columbus Dispatch)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Rebecca Perlman has joined Kirkland & Ellis as a partner with the environmental, social, and governance and impact practice group in London. At Herbert Smith Freehills, she was head of ESG for the United Kingdom, United States, and EMEA and global head of sustainable and impact investment.
• Rockard Delgadillo has joined Sheppard Mullin as a partner with the real estate, energy, land use, and environmental practice group in Los Angeles. He joins from DLA Piper.
• Vincent Galluzzo has joined K&L Gates as a partner in the intellectual property practice area in Charlotte, NC. He co-chaired the trade secrets working group at Crowell & Moring.
• Stephen Freeland has joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as co-chair of the advertising and e-commerce group.
• Matthew Gurch has joined the energy, projects, and transactions section of the global projects department at Baker Botts as a partner in Washington, DC. He practiced as a partner in the corporate practice group and as a member of the energy and natural resources industry groups at Stoel Rives.
• Christopher Buch has joined Vedder Price as a shareholder with the executive compensation and employee benefits group in Chicago. He served as a shareholder at Polsinelli PC.
• David Hernand has joined Simpson Thacher as a partner in Los Angeles. He joins from Paul Hastings.
• Neal J. Reenan and Ian N. Bushner have joined Freshfields as partners in New York.
• Andrea Surratt has joined Crowell & Moring as part of the white collar and regulatory enforcement group in Denver.
• Rob Clary has joined Baker McKenzie as a partner with the tax practice in Chicago.
• Vasi Papadopoulos has joined Ashurst as partner with the corporate practice in the UAE.
• Tax lawyer Elie Zolty will join Kirkland & Ellis as a partner. He practiced as a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel.