Wake Up Call: New York Bar Pushes for Re-Opening of Law Offices

In today’s column, Willkie advised Air France KLM on negotiations to get billions of euros in state aid to help it survive the Covid-19 grounding of its fleet; Katten announced pay cuts and furloughs to protect its cash flow, as well as a fund to help its affected people; Goodwin grabbed a transatlantic firm’s London-based commercial dispute resolution practice chief to lead its U.K. litigation practice; London-based computer games multinational Improbable Worlds hired a former Microsoft in-house lawyer as its new general counsel; Clifford Chance promoted 26 lawyers to partner.

• Leading off, as U.S. governors and local officials begin considering whether and how to end or ease Covid-19 stay-at-home orders, the New York State Bar Association is stumping for law offices to be allowed to reopen before other “nonessential” businesses. The bar yesterday formed a group to make recommendations on the subject, with its president, Greenberg Traurig shareholder Hank Greenberg, commenting, “We are the foot soldiers of the Constitution. We are utterly vital and essential to society.” (New York Law Journal)

• Yesterday, more law firms announced cost-cutting measures to survive the shutdown’s economic impact. Katten Muchin Rosenman announced pay cuts and an unspecified number of furloughs of business professionals and lawyers, but it said it’s not doing layoffs. The Chicago-headquartered firm said it created a “supplemental unemployment” fund to help its employees affected by the measures. A few other firms have created similar funds. Katten said it hasn’t decided what to do about its summer associate program. (American Lawyer)

• London-based Stephenson Harwood said it will pay bonuses but it’s deferring partner profit distributions and furloughing 19 administrative staff members. (Legal Week via Law.com International) Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, which has already made temporary pay cuts and furloughs, may have also made some layoffs, a report says. (Above the Law)

• Meanwhile, some firms have yet to make Covid-19 austerity cuts. (Above the Law)

• Covid-19 will likely spur corporate litigation, but not right away, Big Law attorneys said. (BLAW)

• Two analysts said that, after Covid-19, demand for lawyers will be so great, the entire industry will get a chance for a “do-over” to find new ways to deliver legal services. (Above the Law)

• McDermott Will & Emory launched a Covid-19 digital health tool aimed at helping health care clients navigate pandemic-related regulatory and policy changes that could affect their emerging digital health products and services. (MWE.com)

• Former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, who was convicted of bribery in 2017, was released from federal prison early because of the pandemic. (Philadelphia.CBSlocal.com)

• A federal prosecutor ridiculed as “delusional” a bid by pharma bro Martin Shkreli to get out of jail early on the premise that he could help find a Covid-19 cure. (MSNBC)

• A Singapore-based Milbank associate is under investigation for an allegedly “opportunistic Covid-19 scheme.” (Above The Law)

Pro Bono

• The 54-country British Commonwealth said it’s working with law firms including Slaughter & May and Milbank to provide pro bono legal help to developing countries steer through measures to protect their businesses and economies during the pandemic. (Commonwealth.org)

• Proskauer is advising the non-profit organization behind the “The Call to Unite,” a 24-hour celebrity livestreaming event, scheduled for tomorrow, and aimed at giving moral support and showing solidarity during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Proskauer.com) (United.us)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Plaintiffs lawyers and Democrats criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s call to make tort reform a condition for giving state and local governments financial aid to deal with Covid-19’s wallop. (Rollcall.com)

• The founder of Susman Godfrey, Texas trial lawyer Stephen Susman, is unconscious in a Houston hospital after a cycling accident. (Texas Lawyer)

• Attorneys must make a reasonable attempt to get more information if facts show a “high probability” that a prospective client wants to use their services to further illegal conduct, an American Bar Association opinion said. (BLAW)

• The 400-member Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, or PIABA, is taking “arbitration” out of its name, in a bid to attract a wider range of class-action and other attorneys to its membership. (Advisorhub.com)

• Willkie Farr & Gallagher said it advised Air France KLM and Air France in negotiations with French and Dutch governments to obtain a mechanism providing billions of euros in loans and guarantees aimed helping the companies survive the financial impact of the Covid-19 shutdown. (Bloomberg News)

• Milbank advised the arrangers, dealers and managers on the $6 billion bond offering on the U.S. market of Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company Petronas. (Gulf Today)

Laterals, Moves

• Andrew Weissmann, one of Robert Mueller’s top Russia probe litigators, will rejoin Jenner & Block in July, about a year after he left the special counsel’s office. (BLAW)

• Goodwin Procter said its London office is getting the head of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s commercial dispute resolution practice, Oliver Glynn-Jones, as a partner starting tomorrow. Glynn-Jones will lead Goodwin’s U.K. litigation practice. (GoodwinLaw.com)

• Ropes & Gray’s London-based private equity co-chair Phil Sanderson is leaving the firm and the practice of law, to “take up coaching in the professional services world.” (The Lawyer) (LinkedIn)

• McKool Smith’s Austin office managing principal Kevin Burgess followed former colleagues in moving to Dallas trial boutique Caldwell Cassady & Curry, where he plans to do more contingency-fee litigation. (Texas Lawyer)

• Also in Austin, Perkins Coie named patent litigator Jose Villarreal office managing partner of its new office in the city. He arrived from Wilson Sonsini a few months ago. (PerkinsCoie.com)

In-house

• Curaleaf Holdings Inc., one of the most valuable U.S. cannabis companies, hired a new chief compliance officer. (BLAW)

• Deutsche Bank is reported to be looking for a new general counsel. (The Lawyer)

• Skydance Media hired former Paul Weiss associate Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon to be its first general counsel. She arrives from Vice Media, where she was senior vice president and general counsel. Skydance also promoted former Warner Bros. executive Jun Oh to president of global business and legal affairs. (Deadline)

• London-based computer games multinational Improbable Worlds hired a new general counsel, getting a former Microsoft in-house lawyer and security engineering leader, Aaron Kornblum. (Legal Week via Law.com International)

Promotions

• London-headquartered Clifford Chance promoted 26 lawyers (eight women) to partner across its offices and practices worldwide. (CliffordChance.com)

• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer promoted 32 lawyers (16 women) to counsel, across its practices around the world, effective May 1. (Freshfields.com)

Technology

• Corporate immigration firm Berry Appleman & Leiden, which has an alliance with Deloitte’s U.K. arm, created a chatbot, named “Ellie” for Ellis Island, to help clients understand complex immigration concepts.(Dallas Innovates)

• Legal tech conference organizers are fighting “Zoom fatigue.” (Legaltech News)

Legal Education

• The Texas Supreme Court said the state’s July bar examination will go forward as scheduled. (Texas Lawyer)

• New York and Pennsylvania are the latest on growing list of states to adopt provisional licensing options for recent law school graduates who will now be able to start practicing on condition that they ultimately take and pass their state’s bar exam and fulfill other requirements. (BLAW)