Wake Up Call: Cleary Guiding Credit Suisse on Acquisition by UBS

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

• Cleary Gottlieb and Swiss law firm Homburger said they’re advising Credit Suisse Group AG on aspects of the deal announced Sunday in which UBS Group AG agreed to buy its smaller rival for a reported 3 billion francs ($3.2 billion). (ClearyGottlieb.com) They are among law firms ”lining up” to advise in the deal. (The Lawyer)
• Morrison & Foerster’s expertise in life sciences and tech and cross-border work helped grow its gross revenues 2.4% to $1.26 billion in 2022. However, the San Francisco-based firm’s average profits per equity partner fell 5.2%, to $2.33 million, even as its equity partnership shrank by 7.8%. Prepaid expenses, investments in talent, and spending on travel and business development contributed to MoFo’s outlays for the year, according to a report based on early data. (The Recorder)
• After double-digit profit gains in 2021, transatlantic firm Womble Bond Dickinson saw its average PEP plunge 13.3% to $702,000 in 2022, although its gross revenues rose 2.3% to $532.6 million. Personnel costs, return of travel expenses, and opening offices in New York City; Huntsville, Alabama, Nashville, Tennessee, and San Francisco, contributed to higher expenses, according to a report. (American Lawyer)
• India’s Bar Council said its rule change allowing foreign lawyers and firms to practice in the country will only allow them to advise clients on foreign and international laws. They will not be allowed to appear in court, according to reports. (Times of India) (NDTV) (Global Legal Post)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• A motion filed by Patterson Belknap lawyers in an insurance fraud lawsuit argues that a BakerHostetler partner’s answers in a deposition were so evasive that he should sit for repeat questioning. (New Jersey Law Journal)
• The law firm suing a former partner for alleged “quiet quitting” has subpoenaed her former employers. (New York Law Journal)
• A suspended Pennsylvania county prosecutor is in jail after a jury convicted him of simple assault, trespassing, false imprisonment, and other criminal charges stemming from a September 2021 attack on a woman. (Michigan Lawyers Weekly)
• Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia hired Sidley Austin at $2,225 per hour to help the school district face an investigation by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares for alleged violations of the Virginia Human Rights Act. (ABC7 News via WJLA.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Barnes & Thornburg said former US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigator Jeremy Lewis rejoined its Chicago office as a partner in its corporate department. Lewis, who earlier spent about 10 years at the firm as a partner, spent the last decade as general counsel at the American Society of Anesthesiologists. (BTLaw.com)
• Fox Rothschild named New York-based intellectual property department chair Dianna El Hioum to be its chief growth strategist, effective April 1. (FoxRothschild.com)
• Blank Rome hired two IP litigators as associates: Cory Edwards from Quinn Emanuel in Chicago and Michael Rubin from Venable in New York. (BlankRome.com)

Legal Education

• The DC Superior Court’s annual Melvin R. Wright Youth Law Fair brought together about 100 Washington-area middle and high school students and full time judges and lawyers for a training session to introduce the students to the law as a possible career. (WaPo)
• Some law firms are hosting poker nights for lawyers to advance their careers and improve their skills. (Law.com)