Wake Up Call: Norton Rose Said to Join Firms Ditching Russia

In today’s column, Goodwin Procter, 2021’s busiest firm for M&A deals, saw its revenues soar 32.8% to $1.97 billion for the year, according to preliminary data; Davis Polk and several other Big Law firms matched Cravath’s pay scale for associates; Ontario’s Law Society canceled a scheduled bar exam, blaming a suspected leak of questions.

• Leading off, Norton Rose Fulbright, which got panned last week over its policy barring lawyers from discussing Russia sanctions, is now joining firms that are pulling out of the country after its invasion of Ukraine, according to reports. (City A.M.) U.K. elite firm Freshfields said it’s cutting ties with sanctioned Russian bank VTB, saying the move exceeds its “legal, regulatory and professional obligations.” Big London-based firm Mishcon de Reya told The Lawyer it will continue representing Russian clients not affected by international sanctions, but it won’t take new work from state entities, companies, or people with close connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (The Lawyer)
• U.S. and U.K. firms have made billions of dollars in fees from Russian clients, but they’re now facing pressure—from governments and the public—to drop them. (Financial Times)
• Linklaters said it’s closing its 30-year-old office in Moscow and winding down its operations in Russia. The firm has has been in Moscow since 1992 and has more than 70 Russian and international lawyers, including 10 partners, based in the country. (Global Legal Post)
• Russia may look to China to help it get around Western financial sanctions hitting its banks and economy. This report says that plan is unlikely to succeed. (WSJ)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• After Cravath Swaine & Moore topped Davis Polk & Wardwell’s scale for associate pay, Davis Polk has now matched Cravath’s scale, which runs up to $415,000, depending on seniority. Also matching Cravath are Baker McKenzie, Boies Schiller, Cahill, Covington & Burling, Irell, O’Melveny, Orrick, White & Case, and Shearman & Sterling. Shearman is also increasing counsel’s base salaries by $50,000; Kaplan Hecker, meanwhile, beat Cravath’s scale and also offered bonuses. (Above The Law)
• Goodwin Procter, 2021’s busiest firm for M&A deal volume, saw its revenues soar 32.8% to $1.97 billion for the year while average profits per equity jumped 28% to $3.69 million. Total hours worked at the firm swelled 27% to close to 3 million. It added 110 partners, 70 from lateral hires and 40 from promotions. (American Lawyer)
• King & Spalding had its highest partner hours in over a decade in 2021. Its rebounding litigation practice and strong transactional practice powered a 19.5% gain in revenues to about $1.83 billion. Average profits per equity partner rose 24.7% to $4.37 million, the firm’s first time over $4 million in PEP. (Daily Report)
• Perkins Coie represented Aether Diamonds, which makes diamonds from atmospheric carbon, on its completion of an $18 million funding round led by socially conscious investment organization, Helena. (PR Newswire)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Winston & Strawn is adding Baker Botts M&A partner Don McDermett as a partner in Dallas and member of its corporate practice. He’s a former senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Sterling Software, Inc.; DLA Piper got Goodwin Procter employment lawyer Stephen Taeusch as a partner based in San Francisco; BakerHostetler grabbed immigration attorney David Serwer as a partner in Chicago and member of its labor and employment practice. He joins after 26 years at Baker McKenzie, including thirteen as a partner; Morrison & Foerster recruited former acting Massachusetts U.S. attorney Nathaniel Mendell as a partner in its investigations and white collar defense group in Boston. (MoFo.com)

Legal Education

• The Law Society of Ontario, Canada, notified over 1,000 law students that a bar exam scheduled to begin Tuesday has been canceled. The group said it had information that questions from the test had leaked. (Law.com International)