Wake Up Call: Gibson Dunn Bills LA $1.8 Million for Two Weeks

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

• Gibson Dunn & Crutcher charged the city of Los Angeles $1.8 million for just two weeks of legal work in May during a high-stakes homelessness case, far exceeding the $900,000 cap in its contract. The firm, with lawyers billing nearly $1,300 an hour, was hired shortly before a federal hearing over whether control of the city’s homelessness programs should be taken from local leaders. (Los Angeles Times)
• Tim Crosland, a former senior UK government lawyer turned activist, was arrested last month under the Terrorism Act for allegedly supporting the banned group Palestine Action. Once a barrister at agencies like Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Crime Agency, Crosland left government after concluding that he could not “make substantial change from the inside.” (The Guardian)
• The Alabama Department of Corrections plans to award a new contract worth up to $200,000 to attorney William Lunsford, who was recently sanctioned for involvement in a court filing containing fake citations generated by ChatGPT. Lunsford, who has long defended the prison system and earned millions from the state, was among three Butler Snow lawyers removed from a federal case in July. (AL.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Steven Kolyer joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft as a real estate partner. He joins from Sidley Austin.
• David Rubenstein joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in its data center and infrastructure practice in Seattle. He joins from K&L Gates.