Wake Up Call: O’Melveny Tops $1 Billion Revenues in ‘Best Year’

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

• O’Melveny & Myers chair Brad Butwin called 2022 the best year in the firm’s 137 year history as strong demand for litigation and corporate practices helped it increase gross revenues 12.4% to $1.02 billion. The firm added 10 equity partners but still managed to increase average profits per equity partner by 2.1% to $2.76 million. (American Lawyer)
• Quinn Emanuel launched a Beijing office, its second in mainland China, to advise its Chinese clients on cross-border disputes and US government enforcement actions. The firm also has an office in Shanghai where it opened in 2016. (QuinnEmanuel.com)
• The Boeing Company paid $6.2 million in compensation last year to its chief legal officer Brett Gerry, who helped the company handle legal fallout from two deadly plane crashes, according to a report citing the company’s latest proxy statement. (Corporate Counsel)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Employment law specialist Ogletree Deakins expanded gross revenues 2.7% to a record $600.9 million in 2022. Its average PEP plunged 15.7%, as it paid out higher expenses. (Daily Report Online) Dallas-founded Haynes and Boone’s revenues grew 5.5% to a record $508.5 million, fueled by strong demand in practices including litigation, restructuring, finance, investment management, real estate, capital markets and private equity. (Texas Lawyer)
• Britain’s elite Magic Circle law firms are expanding their digital assets teams. (Financial News)
• Two St. Louis-area lawyers are being sued by a former client who accused them of turning his request to quietly get his felony conviction expunged from his record into a “media blitz.” (St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Latham & Watkins hired three partners. Corporate attorney Ian Nussbaum joined the firm’s mergers & acquisitions practice in New York arriving from Cooley; capital markets attorney Abigail Smith, focused on real estate investment trusts, joined the firm in Washington from Hogan Lovells; music licensing lawyer Gabe Fleet joined Latham’s connectivity, privacy & information practice based in New York. Earlier a Greenberg Traurig shareholder, Fleet joins recently from New York-based iHeartMedia, where he was executive vice president of business affairs and chief music licensing counsel. (Lw.com)
• UK elite firm Linklaters added three lawyers to its US energy and infrastructure team and renewables platform. Arriving as partner from White & Case, Marius Griskonis becomes the team’s co-head with Ron Erlichman who joined from Sidley Austin in November. Renewable energy tax attorney Judy Kwok joined as partner from Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders in New York. Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission attorney Diana Jeschke is arriving from Crowell & Moring in Washington as senior counsel March 13. (Linklaters.com)
• DLA Piper recruited US Justice Department appellate counsel Samantha Chaifetz as litigation partner in Washington. Chaifetz, earlier deputy counsel to Vice President Kamala Harris, will serve as co-chair of DLA’s appellate advocacy practice, with current co-chair Stan Panikowski, a partner based in San Diego. (DLA Piper)
• Greenberg Traurig recruited Robert Ross, who was chief legal counsel to former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, as of counsel in its Boston government law & practice (GTLaw.com)
• Former Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association general counsel and Clifford Chance partner Ira Hammerman joined the Bates Group, a financial services industry consultant, as managing director, based in Park City, Utah. (Businesswire)
• Axogen, Inc., developer of surgical solutions for peripheral nerve injuries, hired biotech in-house veteran Marc Began to take over as executive vice president and general counsel effective March 20. Began, a former Big Law litigation and licensing attorney, arrives recently from Abiomed, Inc. , acquired late last year by Johnson & Johnson. He replaces Brad Ottinger, GC and chief compliance officer. (BioSpace.com)

Legal Education

• The American Bar Association reinstated accreditation for four law schools it had earlier found to be out of compliance with ABA standards. (Law.com)