Wake Up Call: Law Firm Backed by Trump Allies Slowed Tariffs

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

• The Liberty Justice Center—a libertarian law firm previously funded by wealthy Trump backers like Robert Mercer and Richard Uihlein—slowed Donald Trump’s broad “reciprocal” tariffs in court, arguing they exceeded presidential authority without congressional approval. Representing five small businesses, the firm joined Democratic state attorneys general in opposing the tariffs, which had rattled markets and drawn bipartisan criticism. (The Guardian)
• Despite widespread adoption of generative AI by Big Law firms, corporate clients have yet to see meaningful cost savings, with legal fees continuing to rise. While AI is being increasingly adopted for tasks like research and due diligence, many clients, like BT, report a lack of transparency and quantifiable benefits. (FN London)
• The term “Magic Circle,” long used to denote the top five elite London law firms, is losing favor within the firms themselves, as partners increasingly see it as outdated and limiting. Originally coined to replace the “Club of Nine” in the early 2000s, the phrase persists in media and popular culture, but partners say it no longer aligns with the global ambitions of firms like Clifford Chance, Freshfields, Linklaters, and A&O Shearman, which are pushing into the more lucrative US market. (CityAm)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Beau Stapleton joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner in its entertainment transactions practice in Los Angeles. He joins from Manatt.
• Kevin Barstow joined O’Melveny & Myers as a partner in its health-care practice group and on its congressional investigations team in Washington. He joins from the White House.
• John Babala joined Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in its corporate department in Los Angeles.
• Luke Levasseur and Evan Williams joined Fox Rothschild as partners in its federal government contracts department in Washington. Levasseur joins from the Justice Department. Williams joins from the US Government Accountability Office.