Wake Up Call: New Ballard Spahr Chair Michaud Eyes Firm’s Growth

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

• Ballard Spahr’s new chair, Peter Michaud, says he sees his 600-lawyer firm getting “even bigger” on his watch and more focused on legal tech adoption. Michaud, who took over as chair on Jan. 1, said he plans on splitting his time between his home state of Minnesota and the firm’s Philadelphia headquarters. (Star Tribune)
• Flexible lawyering service Axiom Law has brought on Eric Bouchard as its new chief financial officer, after serving in a stint with Nestle Health Services in the same role. Bouchard’s appointment follows Axiom’s hiring last year of Ashlin Quirk to be its general counsel. (Axiom)
• Morgan Lewis & Bockius is defending the state of Hawaii in a suit filed by a group of Hawaiian children demanding that the state better protect them against the effects of climate change. Hawaiian officials have asked the state legislature for $3.25 million to pay the firm. (Hawaii News Now)
• California lawyer Stephen Yagman tried to spring a trap on Donald Trump in a court case designed to force the former president to “face a grilling” over his role in the Jan. 6 US Capitol attack. Yagman, who regained his law license after a 2007 tax evasion conviction, in a motion called Trump “a truly deranged and dangerous fool.” (Los Angeles Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Evan Parness has joined Covington & Burling as a partner in the employment practice group in New York.
• Chloe Cina has joined Morrison Foerster as a partner in the national security group in London. She joins from Deutsche Bank.
• Justin P. Murphy has joined BakerHostetler as a partner in the litigation practice group and member of the antitrust and competition team in the Washington office.
• James Ravitz and Paul Gadiock have joined McDermott Will & Emery as partners in the healthcare practice group. The pair joins from Wilson Sonsini.
• Gordon Young has joined Frost Brown Todd as a partner with the business and commercial litigation practice in San Francisco. He joins from Barr & Young Attorneys.
• Manuel A. Fernandez and Alberto J. Delgado have joined McCarter & English as partners in the real estate practice group in the Miami office. They join from Alvarez & Diaz-Silveira LLP.
• James Caserio has joined Jones Day as a partner in the real estate practice in Chicago.
• Noah A. Katsell has joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner with the litigation department in San Diego.
• Seth Row has joined Stoel Rives as a litigation partner in Portland, Ore. He joins from Miller Nash.
• Lawrence J. Finnell has joined Eckert Seamans as a member in the employee benefits and executive compensation practice group in Newark, N.J.
• Cara Houck has joined Holland & Knight as a partner with the real estate capital markets group in Chicago. She was a principal with Miller Canfield.
• Elizabeth C. Yoo has joined Day Pitney LLP as a partner in the corporate and business law department in the New Jersey office.
• Timothy Cruickshank has joined Paul Weiss as a partner with the capital markets group within the corporate department in New York.
• Julian Gurule has joined O’Melveny & Myers as a partner in the restructuring practice group in Los Angeles. He served as co-chair of the insolvency and financial law group at Buchalter in L.A.
• Stephen Josey has joined Vinson & Elkins as counsel with the tax and executive compensation and benefits practices in New York. He also served as counsel at Kostelanetz & Fink.
• Ben Eaton has joined Mayer Brown as a partner in the London tax practice. He served as a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig.
• Edmund Burke has joined Dentons LLP as an employment partner in Brisbane, Australia.