Wake Up Call: Legal Industry Adds Jobs After Months-Long Slump

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

• The US legal services industry added 1,600 jobs in September, marking a turnaround from a months-long decline that started in spring. According to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the legal sector totaled 1,181,400 jobs last month. The industry had been consistently losing jobs since April. (Lawyer Monthly)
• The University of Notre Dame Law School has emerged as a key conservative legal force, with increasing influence on the Supreme Court through the placement of students and faculty in prestigious clerkships. The school has become a breeding ground for conservative legal philosophies championed by justices like Amy Coney Barrett, a former Notre Dame professor. (NBC News)
• Attorneys general in blue states are “Trump-proofing” their states from litigation challenging progressive policies if the former president wins a second term. A spokesperson for California AG Rob Bonta said his office is reviewing Trump’s second-term agenda to build a strategy as they prepare for what they expect would be a wave of lawsuits in the environmental, immigration, and civil rights spaces. (The Washington Post)
• Artificial intelligence usage in law firms has skyrocketed, with 79% of legal professionals saying they use AI in their daily work—a jump from 19% in 2023, according to Clio’s Legal Trends Report. Seventy percent of clients reported either preferring or being neutral toward firms that utilize AI. (Clio)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Nassif BouMalhab joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder its international arbitration and litigation practice in the United Arab Emirates. He joins from Clyde & Co.
• Sophie Smith joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a partner in its private funds practice in London.
• Henry Leventis joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its healthcare regulatory and enforcement practice. He was the US attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
• Indranil Mukerji joined Covington & Burling as a partner in its patent litigation practice in Washington.
• Andrew Hinkes joined Winston & Strawn as a partner in its transactions department in Miami.
• Henry Jin rejoined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a renewable finance partner in Washington.
• Adam Mocciolo joined Akerman as a partner in its labor and employment practice group in New York.
• Carolyn Welshhans joined Morgan Lewis as a partner in Washington. She joins from the Securities and Exchange Commission.