Wake Up Call: Davis Polk Advises Fisker on Possible Bankruptcy

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

• Davis Polk & Wardwell and financial adviser FTI Consulting have been tapped to assist electric vehicle startup Fisker as it prepares for a possible bankruptcy filing. Fisker, one of many EV companies that have been hit hard by “stagnant EV demand,” reported last month that it was more than $1 billion in debt. (Wall Street Journal)
• Former Paul, Weiss and Debevoise & Plimpton M&A attorney Michelle Riley is the new board of directors chair for Lambda Legal, the LGBTQ civil rights group. Riley is currently general counsel and chief compliance officer for the private equity firm Bregal Sagemount. (Lambda Legal)
• The “real value” of GenAI to lawyers will be the time they save by passing along “routine, repetitive tasks” to the machines so they can concentrate on client relationships, one futurist contends. Lawyers who manage the transition well should be able to build professional relationships and trust “in ways that machines may never be able to replace.” (Forbes)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Kate Jensen is rejoining Steptoe as a partner with the government affairs and public policy practice in Washington, D.C. She also served as corporate counsel at Amazon Web Services.
• Henry B. Ward III and Samantha “Sam” Skains-Menchaca have joined Bradley as partners with the intellectual property practice group in Charlotte, N.C. They previously practiced at Moore & Van Allen.
• Kevin P. Broughel has joined Katten as a partner with the financial markets litigation and enforcement practice in New York. He served as global co-chair of the securities litigation practice at Paul Hastings.
• Brad Howell has joined Dykema as a member with the product liability practice group in Houston. He previously practiced at MehaffyWeber.
• Jason DuVall has joined Vedder Price as a shareholder with the finance and transactions practice group in Dallas. He previously practiced with Dorsey & Whitney.
• Alycia Degen has joined the product liability litigation practice at Shook Hardy & Bacon as a partner.
• Adam V. Sussman has joined Nelson Mullins as a partner with the private funds and investment management practice in New York.
• Jim Donelon has joined McGlinchey Stafford as a member in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. He previously served as the commissioner of insurance for Louisiana.
• Lori Gordon has joined Goodwin as a partner with the intellectual property litigation practice in Washington, D.C.
• Kevin R. Puvalowski has joined Petrillo Klein + Boxer as a partner. He served as the head of the consumer protection and financial enforcement division at the New York State Department of Financial Services.