Wake Up Call: Latham Climbs Past Kirkland for Revenue in London

In today’s column, three Big Law firms have remote attorneys in Texas but no physical offices; Cleary is advising underwriters in Southern California Edison Co.’s $7.9 billion bond offering; a Florida appeals court said a $652,000 fee and costs request for a $52,000 verdict was way too much.

• Leading off, Latham & Watkins has knocked Kirkland & Ellis off the hill as London’s top US firm by revenue, UK legal publication The Lawyer said. According to its new US 50 report, 48 US firms in London expanded their revenues in 2021, of which 34 posted double-digit gains. (The Lawyer)
• Twenty of the Am Law 25 firms have at least one office in Texas. Of the five with no outpost in the Longhorn State, three—Ropes & Gray, Cooley, and Goodwin Procter—have recently been hiring remote attorneys that identify Texas as their primary practice location. Those remote hires could be to serve client demand, but they could also be a sign the firms plan to open offices in the state, market observers say. (Texas Lawyer)
• Cleary Gottlieb said it’s representing underwriters Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Mizuho Securities USA LLC, and TD Securities (USA) LLC in a $7.9 billion bond offering by Southern California Edison Co.; Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised Paris-based private equity firm PAI Partners on its agreement to sell Perstorp Holding AB, a Sweden-founded global specialty chemicals company, to Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad, for 2.3 billion euros. ($2.43 billion) (PAIPartners.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• A Florida appeals court slashed $482,200 from a $652,000 request for fees and costs in a property insurance claim stemming from Hurricane Irma for which the verdict was $52,000. (Insurance Journal)
• Midsize law firms need to “scale up” to parry challenges they’re facing from large law firms moving into secondary markets. (Law.com)
• A federal jury convicted a Florida man for his role in a conspiracy to launder illegal proceeds from a business email scam that defrauded law firms and other companies of more than $1 million. (Justice.gov)
• The New York City Bar Association elected Jenner & Block media and entertainment partner Susan J. Kohlmann as its 70th president. She’s co-chair of Jenner’s trademark, advertising and unfair competition practice. (Jenner.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• DLA Piper grabbed longtime intellectual property litigator J. Kevin Fee as a partner in Washington. He arrives after 23 years at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, recently as co-leader of the trademark and copyright litigation practice; DLA also got back tax attorney Matt Servies from Ice Miller as a partner in Atlanta in its transaction services practice. Servies, who was at DLA earlier in his career, among other things, advises private equity funds and their portfolio companies on tax structuring and corporate matters; Sidley Austin hired real estate attorney Jason Comer as counsel in Miami. He arrives from Weil, Gotshal & Manges with two associates. (Sidley.com)
• Nixon Peabody brought in attorney Emily Dinsmore as counsel in its global finance practice based in Buffalo, New York; management-side worklaw firm Littler said it appointed shareholder and tech innovator Scott Forman, who has been at the firm since 2003 and developed its CaseSmart and onDemand platforms, as its first chief data officer; Alston & Bird added environmental litigator Jason Levin as a partner in Los Angeles. He arrives after 22 years at Steptoe & Johnson LLP. (Alston.com)
• Massachusetts-based Aspen Aerogels, Inc., which provides insulation materials and electrification solutions, hired veteran technology and insurance in-house leader Virginia H. Johnson as chief legal officer, general counsel and corporate secretary. A former Weil Gotshal senior associate for securities litigation/regulatory, she was in-house at KKR-backed reinsurer Global Atlantic Financial Group and recently top lawyer at Schneider Electric North America. (PR Newswire)