Wake Up Call: Spiro to Represent CoStar Rival in Legal Fight

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

• Real estate data company Crexi hired Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro to defend it in its long-running legal battle with real estate giant CoStar, which accuses Crexi of using offshore contractors to copy and edit its photos without watermarks. After a mixed June ruling affirming CoStar’s photo ownership, the 2020 case is now headed to trial, while Crexi’s previously dismissed antitrust countersuit was revived on appeal but will be tried later. CoStar is represented by Latham & Watkins. (Business Insider)
• Former Texas solicitor general Jonathan Mitchell, architect of the state’s most aggressive anti-abortion legal strategies, is driving a new interstate test case that seeks to extend Texas abortion restrictions far beyond its borders. Mitchell is suing California doctor Remy Coeytaux for allegedly mailing abortion medication into Texas. Known for crafting the SB8 private-enforcement model, Mitchell is now using Coeytaux as a vehicle to challenge blue-state shield laws and provoke a larger constitutional fight. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• The Maryland Supreme Court indefinitely suspended attorney Tristan Wade Gillespie after finding that his conduct in more than 600 ADA “tester” lawsuits involved repeated dishonesty, inadequate client communication, and unfair settlement tactics. Although federal judges had previously suspended him for four months, the state high court said that sanction understated the seriousness of his misconduct, noting his “cavalier approach to the truth” across numerous tribunals. (The Daily Record)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Justin Gonzales joined Winston & Strawn as a partner in its transactions department and mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice in Chicago.
• Ray Bonilla joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its education team in Austin. He joins from the Texas A&M University System.
• Douglas Miller joined Boies Schiller Flexner as a partner in its securities litigation and global investigations and white collar defense practices in Los Angeles. He joins from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Melissa Lin joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its commercial litigation, employment, labor, cyber, privacy and data security, business transactions, and government investigations and enforcement defense practices in Phoenix.
• Nicholas Cheolas joined Wiley Rein as a partner in its litigation practice. He joins from the Justice Department.