Wake Up Call: Paul Hastings Shifts to ‘Flexible’ Reopening

In today’s column, Wilson Sonsini is the latest Big Law firm to open an office in Salt Lake City; Keller Lenkner LLC said it was unaffected by the data breach that hit its affiliate firm in the U.K.; Sanford Heisler appointed a firmwide managing partner and vice chair, among several new leadership and other moves at the firm.

• Leading off, Paul Hastings wants its U.S. attorneys and “time-keeping professionals” to work at least two days a week in-office starting Jan. 10, 2022. The firm’s new plan for a “flexible” post-pandemic work environment marks a big shift from its position last May, when it said it wanted in-office work to be the default when employees started returning, Law.com reported. (The Recorder)
• After a surge in Delta-variant Covid-19 cases and concerns expressed by associates caused many Big Law firms to delay their earlier reopening plans, Paul Hastings was among several firms that changed their targets to early November. Another, Fried, Frank, started the first phase of its reopening this week. It’s already asking employees to come into the office one to two days per week until year’s end then three days per week starting in January, said Fried, Frank’s chairman, David Greenwald. (American Lawyer)
• Wilson Sonsini said it’s going back to Salt Lake City, opening a new office there initially with three lawyers. The Silicon Valley firm is the latest Big Law firm to open in the city after Kirkland & Ellis, and Foley & Lardner earlier this year, a report says. (PR Newswire) Wilson Sonsini closed a 13-lawyer office in the city in 2007. (National Law Journal)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed the head of Baker Botts’ Supreme Court and constitutional law practice, Evan Young, to the state’s Supreme Court. Young was a law clerk for U.S. Justice Antonin Scalia and was a Justice Department counsel to the U.S. attorney general. (Austin American-Statesman)
• A Missouri federal jury sided with an insurance company defending against a restaurant group’s Covid-19 business interruption lawsuit. (Law.com)
• Mayer Brown’s recent problems in Hong Kong illustrate quandaries faced by international law firms and companies as Beijing demands “ideological loyalty” from the commercial sector. (Financial Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Sanford Heisler Sharp said its Baltimore office managing partner, Deborah Marcuse, will add “firmwide managing partner” to her roles. It said name partner Kevin Sharp, the firm’s former Nashville managing partner, becomes its co-vice chair joining New York office managing partner Jeremy Heisler, who is a co-founder and co-vice chair. The moves were among nine new leadership positions, five promotions and seven additions the firm announced; Orrick recruited two partners: intellectual property licensing & tech transactions adviser Rob Parr arrives from Wilson Sonsini in London; corporate tax adviser David Klass arrives from Hunton Andrews Kurth in Boston; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said investment funds lawyer A.J. Frey, a former associate at the firm, rejoined in New York as a partner in Washington. (GibsonDunn.com)
• Arnold & Porter poached Jones Day health care and life sciences partner Christopher Anderson in Chicago. A&P said corporate and finance lawyer Marc Isaacs joined as a partner in London. He was previously at McGuireWoods; London-headquartered Herbert Smith Freehills grabbed New York litigation partners Marc Gottridge and Lisa Fried from Hogan Lovells. Gottridge was Hogan Lovells’ global head of financial services litigation. Fried was Hogan Lovells’ New York administrative partner; Dentons brought in DLA Piper commercial litigator Tomasita Sherer as a partner in New York. (Dentons.com)
• Broadband access provider American Broadband Holding Company said it hired veteran in-house leader John Walter as executive vice president and general counsel. He recently served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary for CVR Energy, Inc.; former Morrison & Foerster litigator Christie Yang was named general counsel at the Walton Family Foundation, where she’d been in-house for about two years including four months, recently, as interim GC. (WaltonFamilyFoundation.org)

Technology

• Chicago headquartered Keller Lenkner LLC said via email that it was unaffected by the data breach reported this week by its affiliate Keller Lenkner UK Limited. “The two organizations are wholly separate—including their IT and security systems and personnel,” a press representative for the U.S. based firm said. (Keller Lenkner LLC)