Wake Up Call: Shearman & Sterling Revenues Drop Below $1 Billion

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

• Shearman & Sterling’s gross revenues topped $1 billion for the first time in 2021 but in 2022 a slump in deal work pulled them back down 10.4% to $906.9 million. The New York-based firm, which recently named a new leader after unsuccessful merger talks with Hogan & Lovells, saw average profits per equity partner plunge 17.5% $2.48 million even with a smaller equity partnership, according to a report based on early data. (American Lawyer)
• Shearman’s New York rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher saw its revenues shoot up 13.1% to $1.38 billion in 2022, thanks to lateral growth, new offices and litigation work that offset declines in deal work. The firm’s average PEP dropped about 5.5% to $3.69 million because of rising costs, among other things. (American Lawyer)
• White & Case “amicably resolved” a lawsuit it filed days ago against a special purpose acquisition company for nearly $8.3 million in allegedly unpaid legal fees. (New York Law Journal)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Crowell & Moring is suing its Washington landlord to get back $30 million in rent it said it paid during the Covid-19 pandemic but should have been able to abate under terms of its lease. (Reuters)
• Arnold & Porter notched record revenues of $1.04 billion in a “steady” 2022, 0.6% better than in the previous year. Its average PEP dove 8.4% to $1.4 million on rising expenses and political dysfunction that hit its regulatory practices. (National Law Journal)
• Several Big Law firms are on hand for the International Chamber of Commerce’s annual Paris arbitration conference this week as the city continues to face strikes over the government’s unpopular retirement reform. (Paris Arbitration Week)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Sheppard Mullin grabbed a five-lawyer real estate team from Jones Day that represents public and private equity companies and developers of multifamily and other commercial real estate in transactions. The team is led by veteran Dallas-based partners Michelle Brown and Andrew Bengtson and includes partners Ian LangeLange, Shane Trawick and special counsel Jeffrey Ramsey. (SheppardMullin.com)
• WilmerHale brought back Cozen O’Connor state attorneys general practice member Paul Connell as partner in Washington and co-chair of its state AG practice with current New York-based co-chair Brian Mahanna. Connell, a former Reed Smith partner who was a WilmerHale associate early in his career, was a Wisconsin deputy AG and senior counsel and federal prosecutor. (WilmerHale.com)
• DLA Piper added Amy Lydon, an intellectual property litigator at medical device maker Medtronic plc, as a partner in Boston in its intellectual property and technology group. (DLAPiper.com)
• Morrison Cohen picked up Armstrong Teasdale white collar attorneys Eric Creizman and Melissa Madrigal, both former Pierce Bainbridge partners, as partners in New York. The firm said it will “leverage” the Miami legal experience of Madrigal, member of Florida and New York bars, to further its work with clients and officially establish a presence in South Florida. (MorrisonCohen.com)
• Cozen O’Connor recruited Vancouver, Canada-based employment litigator Andrea Piercy as a member and leader of its Canadian employment law group. (Cozen.com)
• Holland & Knight brought in technology-focused federal policy attorneys Daniel Ritter and Paul Stimers as partners and senior policy adviser Dennis Potter to its public policy & regulation group in Washington. They arrive from K&L Gates. (HKLaw.com)
• Virginia-based pork producer and food-processing company Smithfield Foods, Inc. promoted deputy general counsel Tennille Checkovich, a former McGuirewoods business and securities litigation partner, to general counsel. (SmithFieldFoods.com)
• Engineered materials company Rogers Corporation hired former Dow Chemical senior counsel Jessica Morton as vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary. She spent five years as corporate and securities associate at Dechert LLP and was recently associate GC at agricultural sciences company FMC Corporation. (Businesswire.com)