Wake Up Call: Luminance Collects $75 Million in Funding Round

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

• Legal AI company Luminance raised $75 million in a Series C funding round led by Point72 Private Investments, bringing its total funding to $165 million. The funding round included major investors such as Forestay Capital and Schroders Capital, along with existing backers like early backers Slaughter and May. (Artificial Lawyer)
• Immigration lawyers are overwhelmed with calls and increasingly unable to provide solutions to undocumented migrants as their legal protections vanish. Many in the practice are struggling to navigate rapidly changing regulations, making it difficult to offer reliable guidance to clients and even reconsidering their ability to continue practicing. (WBUR)
• A Linklaters study found that while AI tools have significantly improved in answering complex legal questions, they still fall short of a mid-level lawyer’s expertise. Testing OpenAI and Google’s latest models, the firm noted AI’s potential for assisting with legal research and drafting but warned that programs still make errors, omit key details, and fabricate citations. (BBC)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Lisa Brown joined WilmerHale as a partner and head of its higher education practice group in Washington. She joins from the Education Department, where she was general counsel.
• E. Martin Estrada rejoined Munger, Tolles & Olson as partner. He was previously the US attorney for the Central District of California.
• Jeremy Medovoy joined McGuireWoods as a partner in Washington. He joins from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s office of enforcement, where he was deputy director.
• Meghan Greenfield joined Jenner & Block as a partner in its energy practice and environmental and workplace health and safety practice in Washington. She joins from the Environmental Protection Agency, where she was senior counsel for litigation.
• Karalyn Mildorf joined Clifford Chance as a partner in its national security and trade compliance team in Washington. She joins from White & Case.
• Will Thompson joined DLA Piper as a partner in its business and commercial litigation practice in San Francisco.
• Zachary Hafer and Yonatan Levy joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as partners in Boston. Hafer joins from Cooley and Levy joins from Ropes & Gray.
• Amy Ruhland joined Pillsbury as a partner in Austin. She joins from Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg.
• Melissa Robertson was promoted to senior vice president and general counsel for the Seattle Mariners.
• David Strong joined WilmerHale as a partner in its transactional department.
• Chad Richards joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its global energy group in Washington. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Lucinda McCann joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in its financial services practice in Sydney. She joins from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, where she was chief general counsel.
• Adam Arnett joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in its private equity practice in Chicago. He joins from Mayer Brown.
• Sanjay Thapar joined Baker Botts as a partner in its corporate practice.
• Amanda Toy joined Cleary Gottlieb as a partner in its executive compensation and employee benefits group in New York.
• Grace Winters joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its real estate section in Newport Beach, Calif. She joins from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.
• Miju Damodar joined Baker McKenzie as a partner in its banking and finance practice in New York. He joins from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
• Michele St. Mary joined Amentum as chief legal officer and general counsel. She joins from L3Harris Technologies.
• Michael Desmond joined Miller & Chevalier Chartered as co-leader of its tax controversy and litigation practice. He joins from Gibson Dunn.
• Heather Park Meek joined Holland & Hart as a partner in its real estate practice. She joins from Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti.
• J. Allen Sullivan Jr. joined Bradley as a partner in its corporate and securities and tax practice groups.
• David Ebby joined Cozen O’Connor as a shareholder in its international real estate group in Philadelphia. He joins from Faegre Drinker.
• Josh Burgener joined Frost Brown Todd as a partner in its business litigation practice in Nashville.
• Tom Geraghty joined Vedder Price as a shareholder in its corporate tax and estate planning practice group in Chicago.