Wake Up Call: McDermott, Schulte Prepare for Upcoming Merger

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

• As McDermott Will & Emery’s merger with Schulte Roth & Zabel is set to finalize on Aug. 1, the firms are still finalizing leadership roles and real estate arrangements. They are having trouble with their New York offices, where neither firm has sufficient space to immediately co-locate staff. Leadership for Schulte partners also remain unclear, with roles and titles still being negotiated. (Law.com)
• Disbarred attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh now ranks among South Carolina’s top five delinquent taxpayers. According to the state’s Department of Revenue, Murdaugh owes over $1.58 million in unpaid taxes, a sum listed under a P.O. Box formerly used by his ex-law firm. Murdaugh was previously indicted for tax evasion in 2022 and 2023. (Bluffton Today)
• Stinson is expanding its New York City presence by relocating to a new office at 140 Broadway, tripling its space from 4,300 to nearly 13,400 square feet. The firm plans to grow its eight-lawyer local team by adding attorneys in new practice areas. (New York Business Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Jonathan Algor joined Lowenstein Sandler as a partner in the firm’s white collar defense and corporate investigations and integrity practice groups in New York. He joins from Kasowitz.
• Christopher Connolly joined Kaplan Martin as counsel. He joins from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
• Andrés Berry joined Hughes Hubbard & Reed as a partner in its banking and financial services practice in New York. He joins from Clifford Chance.
• Michael Kilgarriff joined Buchalter as a shareholder in its white collar and investigations group in Denver. He joins from Ballard Spahr.
• Devin Carpenter joined Honigman as a partner in its litigation department in Chicago. He joins from DLA Piper.
• Jay Reilly joined Foley Hoag as a life sciences partner in Boston and Washington. He joins from Saul Ewing.