Wake Up Call: Miami Vies With NYC as Top US Dispute Venue

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

• Booming Miami is challenging New York’s status as the top US jurisdiction for international dispute resolution. (Daily Business Review)
• As some of the world’s biggest law firms look to open in India under the India Bar Council’s new rules, a group of 125 local firms is asking for the changes to be put on hold. The Society of Indian Law Firms argues in a letter that the new rules are discriminatory and would overly benefit foreign companies. (Reuters) (Financial Times)
• Fried Frank grew its revenue 0.7% to a firm record $958.4 million in 2022. The New York-headquartered firm’s average profits per equity partner plummeted 15.3% to $3.6 million. (American Lawyer)
• The two lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in his New York indictment, Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina, are longtime longtime fixtures of New York criminal proceedings. (Politico) Former Attorney General Bill Bar said his old boss should not take the stand in his own defense if his criminal indictment goes to trial, because he lacks “all self-control.” (Newsweek)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Atlanta-based Smith Gambrell & Russell’s recent mergers with other firms helped expand its revenue by 15.5% to a record $183.36 million in 2022. The firm looks set for more growth this year. (Daily Report Online)
• Eckert Seamans said it launched an inclusion council as part of its efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion across its workforce and the communities it serves. (EckertSeamans.com)
• A retired Albany-area lawyer, who has been a volunteer firefighter for 40 years, donated $1 million to his alma mater, Albany Law School, to help people who take a non-traditional route to a legal career. (New York Law Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Paul Hastings poached Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s Washington-based white collar and securities litigator Brad Bondi, who was chair of the firm’s white collar and government investigations group. He joins Paul Hastings as partner and global co-chair of its investigations and white collar defense practice. (PaulHastings.com)
• Paul Hastings lost fintech, investigations, and white collar defense partner Laurel Loomis Rimon to Jenner & Block in Washington. She’s a former federal prosecutor who served as the Homeland Security Department’s top lawyer in the inspector general’s office and as assistant deputy enforcement director in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At Jenner, she’ll be co-chair of the firm’s fintech and crypto assets practice. (LinkedIn) (Jenner.com)
• Ashurst hired Goldman Sachs managing director Philip Linton, who was in charge of Goldman’s litigation and contentious regulatory team for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. He joins Ashurst as partner in its disputes & investigations practice in London. (Ashurst.com)
• Big Law firms made several moves in Singapore. K&L Gates’ Singapore branch added project finance lawyer Sarah Park as a partner in its corporate practice. She was partner in White & Case’s Seoul, Korea, office. (KLGates.com)
• Shearman & Sterling lost another partner in London, as leveraged finance attorney Rahul Chatterji left to join UK firm Linklaters in its Singapore office as partner. (Linklaters.com)
• Milbank LLP added Australian financial restructuring lawyer Nicholas Dunstone as partner in Singapore. He was partner at Hong Kong-based asset management firm Asia Research & Capital Management. (LinkedIn)
• Clyde & Co hired Norton Rose Fulbright insurance attorney Charles A. Foucreault as partner in Montreal. (ClydeCo.com)