Wake Up Call: Team USA’s Star Is a Personal Injury Attorney

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

• Rich Ruohonen, a 54-year-old personal injury attorney, became an unlikely member of the US men’s curling team at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, potentially making him the oldest American Winter Olympian ever. Ruohonen is a longtime curling veteran who narrowly missed Olympic qualification for decades before joining the team as a substitute when a player fell ill. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Don Lemon hired Joseph Thompson, a former federal prosecutor who recently resigned as acting US attorney for Minnesota, to defend him against federal charges tied to his coverage of a church protest in St. Paul. Lemon was indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations of conspiracy and interfering with congregants’ constitutional right to freely practice their religion during a Jan. 18 demonstration. (The Guardian)
• Former South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh’s legal team is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to overturn his murder convictions and grant a new trial. His lawyers are arguing that juror comments by a court clerk later convicted of perjury, along with the trial judge’s decision to allow testimony about Murdaugh’s financial crimes, unfairly influenced the jury. (The New York Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Taj J. Clayton and Scott Thomas joined Latham & Watkins as litigation partners in Dallas. Clayton joins from Kirkland & Ellis. Thomas joins Winston & Strawn.
• Tom L’Helias, Erik Mengwall, and Mike Ginzburg joined BakerHostetler as partners in the business practice group in New York. They join from Loeb & Loeb.
• William Liu joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in its financial services practice in London. He joins from K&L Gates.
• Joshua Cohen joined Paul Hastings as a partner in its investment funds and private capital practice in Chicago.
• Olivia Stewart and Brian Kettmer joined Paul Hastings as partners in Charlotte. They join from Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft.
• Charles Ching joined DLA Piper as a partner in its private equity practice in Washington.
• Samuel Dibble joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its corporate and securities practice in San Francisco. He joins from Baker Botts.
• Maurio Fiore joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as a partner in its corporate and financial services department and private equity and mergers and acquisitions practice groups in New York. He joins from Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
• Laura Angelini joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in its health-care litigation practice in Boston.
• Joseph Delehanty joined Polsinelli as a shareholder in its commercial litigation practice in Chicago.
• Caroline Robbins joined McDermott Will & Schulte as a partner in its private client practice group in Los Angeles. She joins from Proskauer Rose.
• J.P. Vogel joined Foley & Lardner as a partner in the construction practice group and the manufacturing sector in Dallas. He joins from Gray Reed.
• Adam Garth, Michael Ayers, Sarah Hartig, Jeffrey Ballin, and Christopher Lund joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as partners in Las Vegas and Reno. They join from Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer P.A.
• Brad Chin joined Duane Morris as a partner in its intellectual property practice group in Washington. He joins from Bracewell.
• Ryan Sugden joined Husch Blackwell as a partner in its real estate, development, and construction team in Denver. He joins from Stinson.
• Daniel Rounds joined Fox Rothschild as a partner in its construction and federal government contracts practice groups in Washington. He joins from Haynes Boone.
• Melissa Peters and Eric Compere joined Ogletree Deakins as shareholders in San Francisco and Los Angeles. They join from the California Department of Industrial Relations.
• Nicholas Hoffman joined ArentFox Schiff as a partner in its real estate practice group in New York. He joins from Haynes Boone.