Wake Up Call: Small Consovoy McCarthy Lands ‘Big Wins’ at SCOTUS

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

• The small, conservative Consovoy McCarthy, which has notched some “big wins” at the US Supreme Court in recent years, represented a convenience store owner before SCOTUS Tuesday in a case involving government-approved debit card fees. The decade-old firm has developed a reputation for putting newer lawyers before the Court as part of its “no ego” philosophy, said co-founder Thomas McCarthy. (CNN)
• NASCAR teams have hired Winston & Strawn co-executive chairman Jeffrey Kessler to represent them in a dispute with the stock car racing group over a revenue-sharing model. Kessler most recently represented Division 1 basketball and football players in an antitrust case that led to the athletes receiving financial stipends. (Associated Press)
• UK insurance giant Lloyd’s of London has appointed interim general counsel Claire Schrader to take the role on a permanent basis. Schrader, who has worked at Lloyd’s for more than 23 years, replaces former GC Peter Spires. (Global Legal Post)
• Former Cravath, Swaine & Moore associate Neil Kornswiet last month launched into space as part of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.'s sixth commercial mission. The hour-long, roundtrip Galactic 06 flight boosted the current CEO of the litigation financing company Optium Capital 55.2 miles above Earth. (Orange County Business Journal)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Briony Pollard has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner with the privacy, cybersecurity, and data strategy practice group in London. She joins from Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
• John Marston has joined Sheppard Mullin as a partner in the governmental practice in Washington, D.C. He joins from Foley Hoag.
• Joshua Pond has joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner in the intellectual property litigation practice in Washington, D.C. He joins from Crowell & Moring.
• Kathryn T. Lundy has joined Venable as a partner in the labor and employment group in New York.
• Christopher J. Rayl has joined Cozen O’Connor as a member with the public and project finance practice in Pittsburgh. He joins from Eckert Seamans.
• James Lin has joined FisherBroyles as a partner with the litigation practice in Palo Alto, Calif. He joins from TechKnowledge Law Group.
• Jack Prytherch has joined Osborne Clarke as a partner with the tax disputes team in London. He joins from CMS.
• Patrick Sarch has joined White & Case as a partner in the global mergers and acquisitions practice in London. He rejoins from Hogan Lovells.
• Nelson Ahn and Edward Kim have joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as partners. They join from South Korean law firm, Lee & Ko.
• Anden Chow has joined MoloLamken as a partner in the New York office.
• Seth Gottlieb and Alex Kassai have joined Latham & Watkins as partners in the emerging companies and growth practice in its Bay Area, Calif., offices. They join from Cooley LLP.
• Theresa M. Sprain has joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder in the labor and employment group in Raleigh, N.C. She joins from Womble Bond Dickinson.
• Garen S. Marshall has joined McGuireWoods as counsel in its government investigations and white collar litigation department.
• Brian Kinnear has joined Husch Blackwell as a partner in the intellectual property practice group in Denver. He joins from Perkins Coie.
• Ray F. Middleman, Amy J. Roy, and Shane D. Valenzi have joined Eckert Seamans as members of the commercial litigation practice. They rejoin from Whiteford Taylor & Preston.
• Brian Youn has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the finance, projects, and restructuring practice in Seoul. He joins from Milbank.
• Sara Langan has joined Akerman as a partner in the real estate practice group.
• David Levy and Brian Senie will join Kirkland & Ellis as partners. They join from Weil Gotshal.
• Opher Shweiki has joined Akin as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office.
• Tucker Ellis has announced the opening of offices in Atlanta, Ga., and Morristown, N.J.