Wake Up Call: Perks Become New Front in Battle for Top Lawyers

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

• London law firms are escalating their battle for top legal talent beyond high salaries by investing heavily in premium office spaces and lifestyle perks. As US firms expand aggressively in the city and drive up pay at all levels, firms are now differentiating themselves with amenities such as health-focused restaurants, gyms, saunas, libraries, coaching services, beauty treatments, and wellbeing spaces. (The Financial Times)
• Top attorneys for Michigan’s major utilities, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, have contributed to the primary campaign of state attorney general candidate and Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald, raising concerns about conflicts of interest as watchdogs warn the contributions appear aimed at influencing a future prosecutor. Current attorney general Dana Nessel has aggressively challenged utilities and observers say the companies may be looking to avoid a similarly tough regulator. (Michigan Advance)
• The University of Florida was ordered to reinstate a law student it expelled for making controversial statements about race and religion, including a post that said “Jews must be abolished by any means necessary.” Chief US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee granted a preliminary injunction requiring that Preston Damsky be readmitted to the law school for now, finding that the school had not shown his statements online and in academic papers were true threats of violence and that the expulsion likely violated his free speech rights under the First Amendment. (Fox News)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Stephanie Clouston and Matthew Durfee joined Paul Hastings as partners in its litigation practice in Dallas. They join from Winston & Strawn.
• Todd Kim joined Pillsbury as a litigation partner in Washington. He joins from the Justice Department.
• Nick Kagan joined Freshfields as a partner in its private capital group in London. He joins from Debevoise & Plimpton.
• George Jenkins joined Arnold & Porter as a partner in its corporate and finance practice in London. He joins from Covington & Burling.