Wake Up Call: McDermott ‘Matches’ Cravath, Baker on Bonuses

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

• McDermott Will & Emery matched with some differences the associate annual bonus scale set by Baker McKenzie last week and mostly followed by Cravath Swaine & Moore this week, Above the Law reported.
• McDermott’s bonus scale ranges from $15,000 to $115,000, depending on class year. It includes a $15,000 payout for first-year associates, which Baker’s scale didn’t include, and a $115,000 bonus for eighth-year associates, left out by Cravath’s scale, which stops at $105,000 for seventh-year associates. To be eligible for McDermott’s bonus, an associate must have joined the firm before Aug. 1, 2022. McDermott said it expects about 65% of its associates to get more than the Cravath scale. Boies Schiller Flexner this week also said it would match the Cravath scale, while adding extra money for big billers. (Above The Law)
• New York litigation boutique Holwell Shuster & Goldberg also said it’s matching the Cravath scale. (Above The Law)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• A Texas attorney accused of trying to shoot his ex-girlfriend at a bar where she worked was out on bail 48 hours later, according to reports. Surveillance video shows the lawyer, identified as Gavin Rush, tackled by other people at the bar as he aimed his gun at the woman. Rush’s law firm, where he was an of counsel advising on sexual assault, among other things, said it fired him. (KVUE.com) (Star Telegram) (New York Post)
• Law firms dealing with financial constraints are pushing lawyers hard to increase their billable hours, but the lawyers, especially younger ones, are reluctant to comply, according to a new survey by legal tech group BigHand. BigHand said it got 800 responses from people in senior finance and leadership roles at UK and North American law firms. (BigHand.com)
• Jenner & Block is suing the West African country Sierra Leone for more than $8 million in legal fees in a Washington federal court. (Reuters)
• Helen Wan, the Hachette Book Group in-house leader whose novel inspired the Netflix series “Partner Track,” is scheduled to be the class of 2023 commencement speaker at University of Virginia School of Law, which she graduated in 1998. (Law.Virginia.edu)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• The professional football league XFL hired NBC Sports Group executive Wendy Bass as chief business and legal officer. She’ll oversee the league’s broadcast partnership with The Walt Disney Company and ESPN as well as betting and gaming efforts. (XFL Newsroom)
• DLA Piper added sports and commercial litigator Caitlin Morgan in Dallas as partner. She arrives after close to a decade at Polsinelli, where she was a shareholder. (DLA Piper)
• In another Texas move, Norton Rose Fulbright hired energy transactions lawyer McCaleb Marshall as a partner in Houston. He joins from Porter & Hedges. (NortonRoseFulbright.com)
• Former US Transportation Department attorney and policy adviser Julia Norsetter joined Reed Smith in Washington, taking the firm’s new role of policy and analysis lead for the global transportation industry group. (ReedSmith.com)
• Barnes & Thornburg picked up Fisher Phillips worklaw attorney Soo Park as partner in Los Angeles. (BTLaw.com)
• Blank Rome recruited tax litigator Joshua Sivin, a former senior counsel in New York City’s Law Department, as of counsel in New York. (Blank Rome)

Promotions

• Perkins Coie promoted 53 lawyers to counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2023. It said 68% of the class is diverse, including women, lawyers of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. (PerkinsCoie.com)