Wake Up Call: Hughes Hubbard Adds DC Firm Repping Trump Officials

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

• Hughes Hubbard & Reed acquired Washington boutique Schulman Bhattacharya. Seven lawyers from the litigation firm will join Hughes Hubbard, including the boutique’s lawyers representing Trump administration officials in multiple matters. Hughes Hubbard named one of the boutique founders, Jeremy Schulman, as head of the firm’s litigation practice in Washington. (Law.com)
• A lawsuit backed by conservative law firm Thomas More Society seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s expanded definition of “sex” stumbled after a judge in the state’s Commonwealth Court scolded attorneys for filing a brief riddled with citation errors, including misquotes and nonexistent sources that he suggested resembled AI hallucinations. Pennsylvania lawyers Tom King and Tom Breth of Dillon McCandless King Coulter & Graham, working with the conservative public interest law firm denied relying on AI and asked for permission to submit a corrected brief. (Bucks County Beacon)
• Florida lawyer Emelike Nwosuocha was suspended by the Florida Supreme Court more than a year after his death for failing to file required paperwork tied to earlier disciplinary actions. Nwosuocha, who died of a heart attack in 2024, had been repeatedly suspended. Unaware of his death, the Bar continued pursuing contempt proceedings, and in December 2025 the court imposed a three-year suspension and fines. (Miami Herald)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Chris Beaumont-McQuillan joined Ashurst as a partner in its real estate practice in Abu Dhabi.
• Neil Begley joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner in its corporate department in New York. He joins from McDermott Will & Schulte.
• Michael Kraft joined Honigman as a partner in its litigation department and privacy, products, and class actions practice group in Chicago. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Michal Netanyahu joined Clifford Chance as a partner in its private equity practice in New York. She joins from Freshfields.
• Daniel Hudson and Alexios Hadji joined Morgan Lewis as tax partners. Hudson joins from Berger Singerman. Hadji joins from Dentons.