Wake Up Call: Cravath Move, Hot M&A Market Could Spur Recruiting

In today’s column, Quarles & Brady joined the list of firms that have pushed back office openings because of the surge of omicron-variant Covid-19; the highest billing bankruptcy partners approached $1,900 per hour rates in 2021; Big Law firms took in millions of dollars in 2021 advising Silicon Valley firms on their IPOs.

• Leading off, Cravath Swaine & Moore’s recent move to loosen its lockstep compensation system may help trigger a wave of lateral moves in 2022, according to a report. Cravath executive compensation partner Jennifer Conway’s reported jump to Davis Polk may harbinger similar moves in 2022. The competitive M&A market could be another catalyst for laterals. (American Lawyer)
• Corporate Chapter 11 filings in 2021 fell from highs during the first year of the pandemic, but top billers still had plenty of work. Bankruptcy partner rates hit as high as $1,895 at Kirkland & Ellis, while other firms were close behind. (Reuters)
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Cravath, Latham & Watkins, and Sidley Austin are a few of the Big Law firms that earned millions of dollars advising tech companies on their initial public offering deals in 2021. Firms are expecting more big deals in the coming year. (The Recorder)
• Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady canceled plans to reopen its offices on Jan. 3. Husch Blackwell, which has headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., told a newspaper it still plans to open its Wisconsin offices in the first week of 2022. (Milwaukee Business Journal)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Two Washington, D.C., law firms—Wiley Rein and midsize financial services firm Gilbert—decided to move their offices in 2021. (National Law Journal) Two other law firms signed new office leases in Midtown New York City. (New York Business Journal)
• After Sidley Austin’s recent leadership appointments, five of the firm’s 10 office managers are women. Sidley’s programs illustrate how some firms are trying to closely coordinate their diversity and talent goals, this article says. (American Lawyer)
• Florida law firm leaders said being able to connect with and train young lawyers without seeing them regularly in the office is a key challenge during the pandemic. (Daily Business Review)
• South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has so far been fined $1,000 following misdemeanor convictions stemming from a fatal car accident in which he was reportedly browsing conservative news sites on his phone while behind the wheel. Ravnsborg, who told prosecutors he thought he’d hit a deer, also faces a recently expanded bipartisan state legislative committee investigation. (Argus Leader)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi Global Inc. appointed corporate lawyer Yi Zhang, senior legal director of e-commerce leader Alibaba Group, to its board of directors. Zhang, also general counsel at Alibaba Local Services Company, got his law degree from Cornell and is licensed to practice in New York. He has practiced for several international law firms, according to a statement. (WSJ)
• Duane Morris appointed San Diego partner Courtney Baird vice chair of the firm’s commercial and antitrust litigation division within its trial practice group. Philadelphia partner James Steigerwald is chair of the division; Baker McKenzie got back Sidley international trade and customs lawyer Meredith DeMent as a partner in Washington. She earlier spent close to seven years as an associate at Baker McKenzie; Carlton Fields hired real estate attorney Shayaan “Shay” Raja for its Orlando office. (CarltonFields.com)