Wake Up Call: Fox Rothschild Elects New Global Managing Partner

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

• Philadelphia-founded Fox Rothschild elected health care partner and practice co-chair Todd Rodriguez to take over as its next firmwide managing partner, a role that makes him responsible for day-to-day management of the firm. Current managing partner Mark Morris, a commercial real estate attorney who’s been at Fox for nearly 40 years, will move to chair. Current chair Mark Silow, who earlier served 12 years as firmwide managing partner, will become chairman emeritus, the firm said. (FoxRothschild.com)
• The dispute continues between Quinn Emanuel and plaintiffs litigation firm Hagens Berman over who will lead a consumer antitrust class action against Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. A judge’s 2021 order designated the firms as co-leaders in the case, but a new judge has thrown out that order and plans to start over. (Reuters)
• Greenberg Traurig has managed to serve paperwork informing Kanye West that it has dropped him as a client. The firm said it spent months trying to track down the rapper, now going by the name Ye. (Legal Cheek)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• As Stroock & Stroock & Lavan searches for a merger partner, the firm’s accounting system and pension program could pose snags for talks. (American Lawyer)
• The company that owns Madison Square Garden has reportedly dropped its policy of banning lawyers involved in litigation against it from entering its venues. The reprieve only applies to lawyers involved in litigation against MSG’s Tao Group hospitality and restaurant unit, which MSG is trying to sell. (Billboard) (Hollywood Reporter)
• Meanwhile, the New York State Bar Association announced that it is examining the “legal and ethical implications” of use of facial recognition technology by MSG and other companies to block certain lawyers from entering their premises. (New York Law Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati picked up corporate attorney Sebastian Alsheimer as a partner in New York in its shareholder engagement and activism practice. He arrives from Olshan Frome Wolosky. (WSGR.com)
• Loeb & Loeb grabbed Akin Gump corporate senior counsel Michael Gerald as partner in Los Angeles. (Loeb.com)
• Blank Rome hired corporate transactions attorney Robert Handler as senior counsel in Los Angeles. He arrives from Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro, where he was corporate and real estate partner. (Blank Rome)
• Proskauer Rose added Akin Gump labor and employment attorney Gregory W. Knopp as a partner in Los Angeles. (Proskauer.com) Proskauer is also getting former Dechert structured credit partner Matthew Kerfoot, now a managing director at French bank group Société Générale, in late February as a partner, the Wall Street Journal reported. (WSJ)
• Kramer Levin hired Akin Gump debt finance partner Scott Welkis as banking and finance partner in New York and chair of its special situations practice. Kramer also added Morrison Cohen corporate lawyer Zachary Jacobs as private equity partner in New York. (KramerLevin.com)
• Former Willkie Farr & Gallagher special insurance counsel Jane Callanan took a job as general counsel at the Connecticut Insurance Department, where she was a staff attorney earlier in her career. (Insurance Journal)
• Solar power company Altus Power, Inc. added chief sustainability officer to the roles held by its chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Sophia Lee. She’s a tech industry in-house veteran and former Paul Weiss corporate associate. (Businesswire)

Technology

• A federal bankruptcy court in New York recently authorized use of Twitter to serve a subpoena. (Legaltech News)

Legal Education

• A program started by Boies Schiller Flexner is providing mentoring to three Cherokee Nation citizens, all Northeastern State University graduates in Oklahoma, as they apply for law school. (Cherokee Phoenix)