Wake Up Call: Ex-Baker McKenzie Chair Lagarde to be ECB’s 1st Female Chief

• Former Baker McKenzie chair Christine Lagarde was told she’d never make partner, because she’s a woman, when she first started her legal career. (TicToc by BN via Twitter) Lagarde went on to become the first female chair of a major global law firm, France’s first female economy minister, and the International Monetary Fund’s first female chief, her current job. Now, she’s been nominated to head the European Central Bank, which would make her the first woman to hold that job. (BN via BLAW) She recently told “The Daily Show” host Trever Noah that “Whenever the situation is really, really bad, you call in the woman.” (NYT)

• A federal judge said he’ll probably cut the $80 million jury verdict against Bayer AG unit Monsanto over claims its Roundup herbicide causes cancer. Judge Vince Chhabria said in a hearing the damages may have been miscalculated, but that he’s not likely to entirely erase the verdict, which came in the second Roundup case to go to trial. Chhabria said he’s taking into account the “reprehensibility” of Monsanto’s behavior in evaluating damages. (BN via BLAW)

• The Trump 2019 campaign has paid Jones Day over $1.24 million so far this year, making it the top biller among law firms doing work for the Republican Party, and Perkins Coie is the top biller for the Democratic party, according to this report. (National Law Journal)

• Justice Department lawyers said they are still looking at whether its possible for the Trump administration to add a question on citizenship status to the census. (BN via BLAW)

• Amazon.com Inc., advised by Perkins Coie, is a product “seller” that can be held liable under state law for a dog collar sold on its website that partly blinded a woman, a court said in a ruling that could complicate Amazon’s business. (BLAW) (BN via BLAW)

• Comcast Cable Communications LLC, represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, won a ruling from the Federal Communications Commission that it doesn’t have to broadcast soccer games by beIN Sports, a network launched by Al Jazeera Media Network in 2012. Willkie said the ruling is the third beIN complaint that the FCC has dismissed in the last two years. (Willkie.com) (Philadelphia Inquirer)

• Scheduling unnecessary court appearances is one of the most subtle ways that attorneys overbill clients, this report says. (AbovetheLaw.com)

• Law school graduates have an average student loan debt of $145,500, including their undergrad debt, according to a report. That amount would take an average monthly repayment of $1,656 to pay off over 10 years, adding in an extra $53,199.60 for interest, it says. (NerdWallet.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Boston-based Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo is getting two corporate partners on both coasts. Former Baker McKenzie lawyer Stephen Osborn, who founded San Francisco boutique Osborn McDerby, is joining Mintz as partner in the city and his firm is closing. In Boston, Mintz is getting WilmerHale partner Joshua Fox. (American Lawyer)

• Houston, Texas-based law firm Patterson and Sheridan says the $17,000 per round-trip cost of shuttling its lawyers to monthly meetings with clients in Silicon Valley in its $3 million private jet is money well spent. (CNBC.com)

Deals

• Shearman & Sterling client Orange, the French telecom group, sold for 486 million pounds ($611 million) its remaining 2.5% stake in U.K.-based telecom group BT Group plc. (Shearman) (Fastmode.com)

• DLA Piper represented Washington-based FTI Consulting, Inc. on its acquisition of Andersch AG, a German restructuring advisory firm. (DLAPiper.com) (Consulting.us)

Laterals, Moves, Promotions

• Vedder Price hired former Kaye Scholer London office chief Andrew Harris to head its private equity and corporate in Europe. Harris was London managing partner and head of the private equity and corporate practices at Kaye Scholer before that firm merged with Arnold & Porter to form Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer in 2017. (VedderPrice.com)

• DLA Piper’s real estate practice hired Greenberg Traurig shareholder Vivek Chavan as a partner in San Francisco. According to his LinkedIn, before his eight-plus years at Greenberg Traurig, Chavan spent 11 years at Morrison & Foerster. (DLAPiper.com)

• DLA Piper’s real estate practice also got lawyer Tali Panken as an associate in New York. She arrives from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. (DLAPiper.com)

• Northern California-based tech company Keysight Technologies promoted its assistant general counsel Jeffrey Li to senior vice president, GC, and secretary. (North Bay Business Journal)

Legal Actions, Bankruptcies, Decisions

• Convenience-store chain Wawa Inc., advised by Morgan Lewis & Bockius, faces a certified class action by more than 1,000 former employees who say they were forced to sell their Wawa stock at an unfair price. (BLAW)

• A new Texas law legalizing hemp is creating confusion for authorities because most of the state’s crime labs can’t distinguish between marijuana, which is still illegal, and hemp, a related cannabis plant. (NBCDFW.com)

Technology

• It’s still early-going for companies’ legal operations teams, according to a new survey. (Legaltech News)

Legal Education

• The family of dead University of Buffalo School of Law student Matthew Benedict started a fund in his name to seek donations for raising awareness of mental health issues, after his suicide last week. (New York Law Journal)