Wake Up Call: Courtroom Hot Mic Adds Drama to Metsera Fight

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

• Lawyers from Wachtell Lipton, representing Pfizer in its high-stakes fight over obesity drugmaker Metsera, are denying they were the ones caught on a hot mic apparently criticizing Delaware Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn’s handling of the case. During a teleconference, someone was overheard saying Zurn misunderstood merger bidding dynamics after she declined to halt Metsera’s sale to Novo Nordisk. Pfizer and its counsel insist the comments didn’t come from their team, while lawyers for Novo Nordisk and Metsera say they had already left the call. (Semafor)
• More than 50 private attorneys and contractors in New Mexico announced that they will stop taking new cases where they would represent federal defendants who cannot afford their own lawyers, citing a funding crisis that has left them unpaid since early July. In a letter to the chief federal judge in New Mexico, the lawyers said the funding crisis means they cannot take on additional cases while ensuring effective representation for their current clients “consistent with our professional and ethical obligations.” (Reuters)
• Joe Khan declared victory in Bucks County, Pa., over Republican incumbent District Attorney Jennifer Schorn, becoming the first Democrat to be elected district attorney in the county since 1891. Khan previously served as an assistant district attorney at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, and as a federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (WHYY)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Thomas Heffernan joined Troutman Pepper Locke as a partner in its energy transactional practice group in New York. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Bill Cooper joined Torridon Law as an energy partner in Washington. He joins from Golden Pass LNG.
• Rachel Weiner Cohen joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a partner in its IP, technology & science litigation practice in Washington.
• Samantha Kirby joined Covington as a partner in its financial services practice in Boston. She joins from Goodwin Procter.
• Ryan Burke joined Husch Blackwell as a litigation partner in Atlanta. He joins from Morris, Manning & Martin.