Wake Up Call: California Floats ‘Civility Oaths’ for Lawyers

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

• California will become the first US state to require its attorneys to take an annual civility oath to “conduct themselves with dignity, courtesy, and integrity.” Judges say incivility is contributing to high rates of anxiety and depression among lawyers, exacerbating the public’s low opinion of them and eroding trust in the justice system. (Reuters)
• London lawyer Matthew Podger successfully overturned an order that suspended him for a year and barred him from senior roles after he failed to report a 2018 cocaine caution. Although a tribunal initially sanctioned him for not disclosing the incident, it reversed course on appeal, citing his clear remorse, substantially improved personal circumstances, and consistent clean drug tests as evidence of rehabilitation. (The Telegraph)
• Professor Camille Gear Rich is suing USC’s Gould School of Law, alleging the university ignored her Title IX complaints that her ex-husband, professor and current vice dean Stephen Rich, had an affair with a student and later retaliated against her by denying disability accommodations. Her suit claims USC ran a superficial investigation, failed to interview Stephen Rich, dismissed her complaints without inquiry, and later penalized her through poor reviews, denied leave, and pay issues. (ABA Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Katie Catanese joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in its restructuring and insolvency practice in New York. She joins from Foley & Lardner.
• Stephen Rutenberg joined Duane Morris as a partner in its corporate practice group in Miami. He joins from Polsinelli.
• Joshua Garcia joined Morrison Cohen as a partner in its digital assets practice in New York. He joins from Ketsal.
• William Hopkins joined Stinson as a partner in its health-care and insurance practice division in Dallas.
• Alice Blain joined Proskauer Rose as a partner in its private equity transactions group in New York. She joins from Paul Weiss.