Wake Up Call: Prosecutor Says He Took RICO Class For Trump Case

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

• Nathan Wade, a former prosecutor in Donald Trump’s Georgia election fraud case, admitted to lawmakers that he had never worked on a racketeering case before Trump’s and that he had to take a racketeering law class before signing onto the case. He was removed from the case in March because of an affair he had with his boss, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. (New York Post)
• Perham Gorji left the Food and Drug Administration last year to join DLA Piper as a partner, where he now advises tobacco companies. Gorji is one of nearly two dozen lawyers that have left the FDA and its Center for Tobacco Products in the last 15 years to advise, litigate for, or work with the tobacco and vaping industry. (The Examination)
• Scott Catlett, who has served as Yum Brands’ chief legal and franchise officer and corporate secretary since 2020, is leaving the company. Associate general counsel Erika Burkhardt will take over his position. (Nation’s Restaurant News)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Jared Axelrod and Suril Patel joined Kirkland & Ellis as partners in its structured finance practice. Axelrod joins from Milbank and Patel joins from Harvey, a legal artificial intelligence startup.
• Nima Mohebbi joined Sidley Austin as a partner in its commercial litigation and disputes practice in Los Angeles. He joins from Latham & Watkins.
• Blaise Latella joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its banking and finance practice in New York. He joins from Winston & Strawn.
• Paul Evans, Krissy Katzenstein, Blair Robinson, and Jeffrey Sturgeon joined Paul Hastings as employment partners. They join from Baker McKenzie.
• Lena Sandberg joined K&L Gates as a partner in its antitrust, competition, and trade regulation practice in Brussels. She joins from Gibson Dunn.
• James Saeli joined Winston & Strawn as a partner in its transactions department and member of its tax practice in New York.
• Anthony Del Giudice joined Eversheds Sutherland as a partner in its litigation practice group in its education team. He joins from the NCAA.
• Jennifer Shanley joined McGuireWoods as partner in its digital health and technology team in New York. She joins from Cooley.
• Meaghan Nelson joined Stoel Rives as a partner in its corporate group.
• Mark Cipolletti joined Thompson Hine as a partner in its white collar defense and investigations subgroup. He joins from the Justice Department.
• David Schultz and Matthew Hinker joined Clifford Chance as partners in New York. They join from O’Melveny & Myers.
• Matthew Pallay joined Kaufman Dolowich as a partner in its maritime and admiralty law practice in Hackensack, N.J.