Wake Up Call: California Bar to Weigh Protests in Licensing

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

• California State Bar admission authorities will consider applicants’ participation in campus protests on an “individual basis” during the moral character process. However, a working group said that evaluators must be careful to exclude protected political speech or expression in reviews. (Reuters)
• ArentFox Schiff relocated its downtown Los Angeles office, downsizing from its previous location and opting for a space that could better accommodate remote work, as the firm embraces a hybrid model. The new office, which comprises 30,000 square feet on the 43rd floor of the City National Plaza towers, represents a 20,000-square-foot reduction from its previous office. (Law.com)
• Former Trump campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, is trying to invalidate his plea. Chesebro’s lawyer asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to invalidate the plea after McAfee tossed out the charge to which he had pleaded guilty in September. (Associated Press)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Peter Williams joined Reed Smith as a partner in its financial industry group in New York. He joins from Linklaters.
• Joanna Enns joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a capital markets partner in Dallas. She joins from Vinson & Elkins.
• Kevin Hogan rejoined Polsinelli as a shareholder in its corporate mergers and acquisitions practice in St. Louis. He joins from ARCO Business Services.
• Daniel Forman and Matthew Friedenberg joined Lowenstein Sandler as partners in New York. Forman joins from Ropes & Gray, Friedenberg joins from Vinson & Elkins.
• Misha Daha joined Vedder Price as a shareholder in its finance and transactions practice group in New York. She joins from Ashurst.
• Ashley Butz joined Frost Brown Todd as a partner in its tax, benefits, and estates practice group in Indianapolis.
• Brian Sweet joined Pryor Cashman as a partner in its trust and estates practice. He joins from Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler.
• Renée Fischer joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its banking and finance practice group in New York and Westchester, Pa.