Wake Up Call: Regional Firms to Create Top 200 Law Operation

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

• Ulmer & Berne and Greensfelder Hemker & Gale announced that they voted to merge and will result in a new Am Law 200 firm. They will operate under the new name UB Greensfelder LLP and will have approximately 275 attorneys in nine offices. (UB Greensfelder LLP)
• Companies are using law firms to help minimize damages from cyber attacks and prevent future attacks from hackers. Cyber crime specialists at law firms are playing the role of negotiator and forensic investigator. (Financial Times)
• Democratic-party aligned law firm Elias Law Group has waded into the legal battle surrounding Atlanta’s “Cop City,” a new public safety training center. The firm, helmed by Marc Elias, supported a drafted ordinance proposed by the organization leading the campaign to place the building of the center onto the ballot for a citywide vote. (Mother Jones)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Lorie Skjerven Gildea has joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder with the appeals and legal issues practice in Minneapolis. Gildea served as chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.
• Gerald A. Stein has joined Davis Wright Tremaine as a partner in the New York City office. He served as an attorney with the bureau of competition at the Federal Trade Commission and has practiced at Norton Rose Fulbright.
• Varu Chilakamarri and Michael Culhane Harper have joined K&L Gates as partners in its Washington, D.C., office. They both worked at the Justice Department.
• Thomas N. Hutchinson has joined Barnes & Thornburg as a partner with healthcare department and corporate department in Indianapolis.
• Alan Wilmit has joined Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in the employee benefits and executive compensation department in New York. He headed the legal department’s ERISA, compensation, and benefits group at Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC.
• Jeffrey M. Mann has joined McCarter & English as a partner in its intellectual property practice group in New York. He served as a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in the intellectual property and technology department in New York.
• Lewis Hower has joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a managing director of TechCo and fund relationships. He served as head of startup banking at Silicon Valley Bank.
• Lorie Soares Lazarus and Peter David Ballance have joined Sheppard Mullin as partners in the real estate, energy, land use, and environmental practice group in Silicon Valley and Century City, Calif. They recently practiced at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan.
• Amy Liu has joined Colin Biggers & Paisley as a special counsel with the corporate and commercial team in Sydney.
• Colin Bolger has joined William Fry as a partner in the tax department. He joins the firm from Byrne Wallace.