Wake Up Call: Taylor Duma Closes Shop After Series of Exits

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

• Atlanta’s Taylor Duma is closing its doors after a series of attorney exits from the firm, including one of its founding partners. Founded in 2005 as Taylor English Duma, the firm lost founding partner Joe English to Offit Kurman in 2025, and downsized from about 150 lawyers nationwide at its peak to 65 this year. (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
• The UK’s Court of Appeal found in a landmark ruling that non-lawyers can work on litigation cases without fear of prosecution. The London court said paralegals and legal assistants who are not qualified lawyers could be involved with cases as long as they were overseen by a qualified solicitor. (Financial Times)
• Law firms scrambling for a slice of the $240 billion secondaries market are “love-bombing” their talent with six-figure payouts to stop them leaving for rivals. Bosses are offering retention bonuses to mid-to-senior-level associates with expertise in the once-niche area of private equity. (FN London)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Christopher Peponis and Hamad M. Al-Hoshan are joining Kirkland & Ellis in Houston and New York. They join from Latham & Watkins.
• Matthew Kita joined King & Spalding as a partner in its finance and restructuring practice group in Charlotte. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Nathan Mitchell joined Holland & Knight as a partner in its international trade group in Washington. He joins from Paul Weiss.
• Sean Bosack joined Nixon Peabody as a partner in its complex disputes practice in Providence.
• Anna Els joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough as a partner in its estate planning and trusts team.