Wake Up Call: FBFK, Stephens Friedland Link in Texas, California

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

• FBFK Law Firm, with 50 attorneys in Dallas, Houston and Austin, Texas, is merging with Stephens Friedland of Orange County, California, to boost litigation and transactional practices. Stephens Friedland founding partners John Stephens and Todd Friedland will lead FBFK’s commercial litigation expansion in Orange County and Southern California. (FBFK Law)
• Law Firms announced 510 partner moves in London last year, the most since consultancy Edwards Gibson began keeping track in 2007. “An odd mixture of (sometimes dramatic) counter-cyclical investments by US law firms in private equity-related hires” helped drive the increase from 480 in 2022. (Edwards Gibson)
• Dickinson Wright has hired a 10-person transaction group in Toronto from nearby Minden Gross, which is winding down operations after 70 years. “The firm can no longer be viable over the long term,” Minden Gross said on its website. “This decision was taken reluctantly.” (Law360 and Minden Gross)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Anna Chauvet has rejoined Finnegan LLP as a partner to lead the copyright practice.
• Mikaela Whitman has joined the insurance recovery team at McGuireWoods as a partner in Century City, Calif., and New York. She joins from Pasich.
• Joseph Guiliano has been named chief intellectual property officer at Adeia Inc.
• Drew Tedford has joined K&L Gates as a partner with the public policy and law practice in Austin, Texas. He most recently served as the director of the Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs.
• Steven Tyrrell has joined Brown Rudnick as a partner in the white collar defense, investigations, and compliance group in Washington, D.C. He previously was a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
• Nicole Daley has joined Allen & Overy as a partner on the US corporate and life sciences teams in the Boston office. She joins from Goodwin Procter.
• Evelyne Bagdassarian has joined Stephenson Harwood as a partner with the tax practice in Paris.
• Benjamin Barnett has joined Seeger Weiss as a partner in Philadelphia. He previously served at Dechert LLP.
• Todd Feinsmith has joined ArentFox Schiff as a partner in its bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice in the Boston office. He joins from Troutman Pepper.
• David Spears, Linda Imes, and Chris Dysard have joined Blank Rome as partners with the white collar defense and investigations group in New York. They previously practiced at Speares & Imes.
• Craig Whitney has joined Proskauer Rose as a partner in the intellectual property practice in New York. He joins from Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz.
• Jose Lopez has been named office managing partner in Chicago at Perkins Coie.
• Gregory Noonan has been named office managing partner of Hogan Lovells’ Boston office.
• Wasiu Omotoso has joined Dentons LLP as a partner in the infrastructure and public-private partnerships group in Toronto, Canada.
• Victor de Vlaam has been appointed to office managing partner for Hogan Lovells’ Amsterdam operations.
• Kegan A. Brown has joined Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in the environmental Law and litigation group in New York and New Jersey. He joins from Latham & Watkins.
• David N. Kelley has joined O’Melveny & Myers as a partner in the white collar defense and corporate investigations practice group in New York.
• Paul Tobin has joined Haynes and Boone as a corporate partner in Orange County, Calif. He joins from Buchalter Nemer.