Wake Up Call: Paul Weiss, Latham Point Merck Deal for Prometheus

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

• A Paul Weiss team including M&A partners Laura C. Turano and Scott A. Barshay is advising pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co on its agreement to pay about $10.8 billion to acquire Prometheus Biosciences Inc., the law firm said. Latham & Watkins advised Prometheus, according to the deal press release. (Merck.com)
• Cahill Gordon & Reindel is the latest Big Law firm to link associates’ bonuses to their in-office attendance. (Above The Law)
• Sidley Austin expanded its gross revenue by about 4.6% in 2022 to above $2.9 billion, powered by growth in practices including energy and infrastructure, life sciences and health care, and a second-half boost in regulatory and litigation work. Sidley’s average profits per equity partner jumped 12% to around $4.2 million, as its equity partnership shrank 13.6% to about 285, according a report based on preliminary data. (American Lawyer)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Reed Smith’s gross revenues slipped 1.3% to about $1.42 billion, while its average PEP shrank 5.2% to $1.64 million. The firm’s London Revenues fell 5.9% in 2022 on foreign exchange adjustment, according to reports. (American Lawyer)
• Hunton Andrews Kurth’s gross revenue contracted 3.1% to $804.1 million in its fiscal 2022, but that was good enough for its second-best year ever, thanks to strong demand in areas including energy, labor and employment, litigation and structured finance. Its net profits plunged 17.6% to $241.1 million, on higher expenses. (American Lawyer)
• Deal update: Fried Frank advised Centerbridge Partners on its agreement with Garrett Motion Inc., Nasdaq-listed provider of automotive technology, and Oaktree Capital Management to simplify Garrett Motion’s capital structure via a repurchase, at a “market price,” of around $570 million in shares. At least two other firms also advised in the deal. (Globe Newswire)
• Lawyers in China said they’re expecting a shakeup of Asia’s legal market from the appointment of general counsel for each of the six separately run entities emerging from the forced breakup of Chinese technology giant Alibaba. (Law.com International)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Haynes and Boone added 11 venture capital professionals in London and Belfast, led by partners Karma Samdup, Andrew Pannell, and Ronan McCann, to its investment management practice. The partners arrive from MJ Hudson, where Samdup was co-managing partner and head of venture capital. At Haynes and Boone, Samdup becomes head of private funds and venture in the London office. (HaynesBoone.com)
• Greenberg Traurig launched a branch in Singapore that it said will work with its existing Asia offices in Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The new office is opening with the former Hogan Lovells team that last year launched Greenberg’s Asia energy and infrastructure practice, including practice head Joseph Kim and shareholders Jared Raleigh and William Wu. (GTLaw.com)
• Baker McKenzie grabbed Weil Gotshal M&A private equity attorney Michael Doumet as partner in Paris. (BakerMcKenzie.com)
• Linklaters recruited former Allen & Overy Middle East banking chief Christian Saunders as senior consultant. He retired from A&O in 2021 after close to 25 years at the firm. (Linklaters.com)
• Baker Donelson promoted 15 attorneys to shareholder across the firm. It also named new leaders in its advocacy department. (Baker Donelson)

Technology

• A legal insurance provider sent out a warning to lawyers about potential legal and cybersecurity risks linked to using ChatGPT. (Legaltech News)