Wake Up Call: Ex-SEC Chair Among Advisers in FTX Bankruptcy

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

• Sullivan & Cromwell of counsel Jay Clayton, who was chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission during the Trump years, is among advisers to bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.com, according to a report. FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller is a former Sullivan partner. (Financial Times)
• Paul Weiss partner Martin Flumenbaum, who represented junk bond trader Michael Milken, is serving as personal adviser to Sam Bankman-Fried, who resigned as FTX’s CEO last week. Lawyer John J. Ray, known for running energy trading company Enron during its huge accounting scandal, is now CEO of the crypto exchange. (Business Insider)
• Sullivan & Cromwell and Fenwick & West, which had advised FTX on transactional work, deleted material from their websites that touted their relationships with the company, which until last week was thought to be worth tens of billions of dollars. (American Lawyer)
• Cincinnati-based Frost Brown Todd is adding 23 attorneys and three California offices through a merger with AlvaradoSmith Jan. 1 to create a 575-lawyer firm. (Reuters)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• London’s pay war for top legal talent continues as Simpson Thacher raised its pay for junior attorneys by 12,000 pounds, or 8%, to 170,000 pounds ($201,717). That puts the firm about level with its Big Law rivals Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins and behind the top payer in Britain, Akin Gump, at 179,000 pounds. (City AM)
• Transatlantic firm Womble Bond Dickinson is marking its five year anniversary since it was formed from the merger of US firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and UK firm Bond Dickinson. (WombleBondDickinson.com)
• Federal prosecutors told a judge that former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, ex mayor of New York, will not face criminal charges over his dealings with Ukrainian figures in the runup to the 2020 presidential election. (Associated Press)
• Amazon.com faces a $1 billion competition lawsuit in the UK alleging its so-called Buy Box promotes offers favorable to Amazon and excludes other sellers. The suit was filed by Hausfeld LLP (WSJ)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Holland & Knight grabbed a team of nine transactional and regulatory partners with extensive experience in the energy industry from Eversheds Sutherland. The team is led by energy and renewables partner Ram Sunkara in Houston and tax partner Amish Shah in Washington. The group also includes partners Jackson Allen and Kyle Wamstad in Atlanta, Joshua Belcher and Ronnie Dabbasi in Houston, Madeleine Tan in New York, and Alexander Holtan and Susan Lafferty in Washington. (Holland & Knight)
• Philadelphia-based Duane Morris picked up a six-lawyer trusts and estates team from DLA Piper in San Diego. The team, including partners Andrew Pharies and Ellen Whelan and special counsel Michelle Glasser, Gretchen Shaffer, Erin Norberg, and Liliana Menzie, joined Duane Morris’ private client services practice. (DuaneMorris.com)
• DLA Piper grabbed financial services litigators Jake Loftus and Christine Ellice as partners in Los Angeles. They arrive from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. (DLA Piper)
• Gordon & Rees brought in product liability litigators Michael Carroll and Tom Joensen as co-managing partners of its Des Moines, Iowa, office. They arrive from Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. (GRSM.com)
• American Financial Group, Inc., an insurance holding company, promoted vice president and assistant general counsel Mark Weiss to senior VP and general counsel, effective Dec. 1. Weiss will succeed Vito Peraino, who was named executive counsel and will serve in an advisory role to the company. (AFGInc.com)
• Cleary Gottlieb promoted nine lawyers to partner, eight to counsel, and six to senior attorney effective Jan. 1, 2023. (ClearyGottlieb.com)