Wake Up Call: London-Based Firm Hit With Russia Sanctions Fine

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

• Herbert Smith Freehills in London was fined £465,000 by the British government after its former Moscow office made millions of pounds in payments to sanctioned Russian banks. The firm blamed the payments on human error during the final weeks of its effort to shut down the office in response to the war with Ukraine. (The Guardian)
• Former Trump campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova‘s personal information, including his Social Security number, was exposed in the release of unredacted JFK assassination files this week. DiGenova, who previously was involved with the Senate Church Committee in the 1970s, called the disclosure “sloppy and unprofessional,” citing concerns about identity theft and personal threats. (The Daily Beast)
• Dentons is expanding internationally by merging with Griffiths & Partners in the Turks and Caicos Islands and Pisut & Partners in Thailand. Griffiths & Partners specializes in litigation, corporate law, and real estate, while Pisut & Partners focuses on dispute resolution, corporate law, and antitrust matters. (Iberian Lawyer)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Jason Sanderson and Zainab Abdullah joined Morrison Foerster as partners in its emerging companies and venture capital group.
• Gidon Caine joined Katten as a partner in its securities litigation practice in Silicon Valley.
• Theresa Nelson joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its employment practice in Atlanta.
• Megan Bosak joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its health-care and commercial litigation practices in Columbus, Ohio.