Wake Up Call: Pretti Family Hires Lawyer From George Floyd Case

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

• The parents of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse shot and killed by Border Patrol agents, have retained Steve Schleicher, a former federal prosecutor who helped Minnesota’s attorney general secure a murder conviction against former police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd. Schleicher, a partner at the Minneapolis firm Maslon, is representing Michael and Susan Pretti pro bono. Pretti’s younger sister, Micayla Pretti, has separately hired attorney Anthony Cotton of Kuchler & Cotton in Milwaukee. (The Associated Press)
• Andrew Downing, a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has represented hundreds of vaccine injury plaintiffs and been paid by the government for his work. But records and client accounts show he frequently withdrew cases from vaccine court once the opt-out period arrived and instead steered clients toward civil lawsuits against manufacturers. In one woman’s case on behalf of her son, Downing urged leaving the program despite her objections, then withdrew when she refused, leaving her without compensation. (KFF Health News)
• Utah lawmakers moved this week to advance a slate of court-related bills, led by a proposal to create a new, three-judge “constitutional court,” drawing ire from the Utah State Bar. The centerpiece bill would centralize constitutional challenges to state laws in a governor-appointed court and limit injunctions by local judges. The bills are part of a broader push that the Bar says would politicize the courts, weaken safeguards against retaliation, and divert resources away from the overburdened district courts. (Utah News Dispatch)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Steve Knipfelberg joined McDermott Will & Schulte as a partner in its litigation practice group in New York. He joins from OKX.
• Nick Woodruff joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner in its energy and infrastructure practice in Texas. He joins from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
• John Stavinoha joined Latham & Watkins as a partner in its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice in Houston. He joins from Bracewell.
• Daniel Dwyer joined Epstein Becker Green as a partner in its litigation and business disputes practice in Boston.
• James Conley, Evan McBride, and Dustin Woods joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as partners in Sacramento. Conley joins from Ogletree Deakins, McBride joins from Jackson Lewis, and Woods joins from Lewis Brisbois.