Wake Up Call: Philly Lawyer’s Name Added to Second Law School

In today’s column, two Big Law firms have implemented austerity measures to deal with a slowdown in business; US law firms dominate a new London ranking of top dealmaking firms, but deal work is slowing in the city; and Ernst & Young hired two Magic Circle firms for advice on its breakup plan.

• Leading off, eight years ago Drexel University named its law school after Philadelphia trial lawyer Thomas R. Kline after he donated $50 million to the school. Now Kline has given $50 million to his Pittsburgh-based alma mater Duquesne Law, which is also naming its law school after him. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Cooley has put a freeze on hires of associates and Reed Smith is pushing out lower performing partners as Big Law firms seek to rein in compensation expenses in response to a slowing economy, a report says. (American Lawyer)
• For the first time, US corporate law firms in London outnumber their UK rivals in a ranking of the top 50 firms doing corporate deal work in the city, but that work has slowed sharply from its post-pandemic pace, according to a report. (London Times)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Months after Ernst & Young disclosed that it would break up its audit and consulting arms, the Big Four accounting firm is expected to move ahead with its restructuring as soon as this week. (BLAW) EY has reportedly hired Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Slaughter and May for legal advice on the plan. (Financial News)
• Former Covington & Burling partner Stacey Grigsby, now a White House deputy counsel, reported taking in more than $2.3 million in compensation as a partner at the firm since early 2021 advising big US companies including Meta Platforms Inc, Uber Technologies Inc and others. (Reuters)
• A Cooley litigation associate was reportedly among 10 people killed in a small plane crash in the Seattle-area. (American Lawyer)
• A Florida judge threatened to sanction a male Lewis Brisbois partner who had requested parental leave continuance three times, but then the judge had a change of heart. (ABA Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Sidley Austin recruited former Securities and Exchange Commission official Lara Shalov Mehraban, who was recently New York acting director and co-head of enforcement in the agency’s New York office, as securities enforcement and regulatory partner in New York; Pryor Cashman added trial attorney John Giardino as litigation partner in New York. He arrives from Michelman & Robinson, where he was New York office managing partner; McGuireWoods picked up two Winston & Strawn life sciences patent litigators as partners. Michael Nutter joins in Chicago and will lead the firm’s pharmaceutical and life sciences patent litigation group. Merritt Westcott joins in Houston. (McGuireWoods)
• Hogan Lovells hired commercial litigators Megan Nishikawa and Amber Trincado as partners in San Francisco. They arrive from King & Spalding and represent clients in industry sectors including energy and pharmaceuticals; Seyfarth Shaw brought in labor management relations attorney Daniel Swedlow as a partner in Seattle. He arrives from Summit Law Group; Gordon & Rees said litigator Katherine K. Kust joined the firm as a partner in Denver in its insurance, commercial litigation, and construction practice groups. (GRSM.com)
• Latham & Watkins said Linklaters’ Spain senior partner Alejandro Ortiz will join the firm as a partner in Madrid in its M&A and private equity practices; Hunton Andrews Kurth hired away Paul Hastings’ EU and UK privacy and cybersecurity practice leader Sarah Pearce in London as a partner. (HuntonAK.com)

Technology

• E-discovery services provider HaystackID, backed by private equity firm Quad-C Management, acquired e-discovery provider Business Intelligence Associates. (PR Newswire) Alternative legal services provider UnitedLex opened an office in Argentina. (Law.com International) Israel-based contract review automation company Lawgeex is refocusing on small business clients and plans to lay off 30 employees—about a third of its staff, according to a report. (Legaltech News)