Wake Up Call: PE Goes Deeper Into US With Personal Injury Deal

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

• Louisiana personal injury firm Dudley DeBosier has struck a private equity deal designed to sidestep US rules that bar non-lawyers from owning law firms, clearing a path for national expansion. The firm spun off its technology, finance, and other back-office assets into a separate managed service organization, Orion Legal, and sold a stake in that entity to Uplift Investors, while keeping the legal practice itself fully lawyer-owned. The MSO will sell services back to the firm for fees, creating value for investors without breaching ethics rules. (Financial Times)
• The California State Bar opened an investigation into Downtown LA Law Group, which represents nearly a quarter of the roughly 10,000 plaintiffs in Los Angeles County’s record $4 billion settlement over sexual abuse in juvenile facilities and foster homes. Court filings show the bar has subpoenaed confidential client materials as it probes allegations that some plaintiffs were paid by recruiters to file false claims, allegations the firm denies. (Los Angeles Times)
• Former Jones Day lawyer John Henry Thompson, Georgia’s newest solicitor general, has quickly built a reputation as the state’s leading appellate advocate. Thompson came to the role after extensive elite appellate experience, including clerking for several appellate judges, a clerkship with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, and a year as a Bristow Fellow in the US Solicitor General’s office. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Mike Schmidtberger joined Norm Law as chairman and head of its investment funds and regulatory practice. He joins from Sidley Austin.
• Veronica Onyema joined Perkins Coie as a partner in its litigation and antitrust practices in Washington. She joins from the Justice Department.
• George Smith joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in its public finance and infrastructure practice in Tallahassee. He joins from George A. Smith PLLC.
• Peter Malyshev joined Sidley as a partner in its regulatory and enforcement practice in Washington. He joins from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
• Cary Nadelman joined DLA Piper as a partner in its structured finance practice in New York. He joins from Chapman and Cutler.
• Alexander Cohen joined Armstrong Teasdale as a partner in the securities regulation and financial services practice in New York.
• Chelsea Hilliard joined Dorsey & Whitney as a partner in its commercial litigation group in Dallas. She joins from McGuireWoods.