Wake Up Call: Tesla Litigation Team Eyes Attack on Short Sellers

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

• The litigation team that Tesla Inc. is building will target a particular irritant of CEO Elon Musk, short-sellers who bet on slumps that hit his electric vehicle company’s share value. The company also intends to take on regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a report. (The Street)
• Davis Polk & Wardwell said partners Oliver Smith and Darren M. Schweige are on a corporate team advising TPG on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in legal tech company Elite from Thomson Reuters, a deal valuing the business at about $500 million. Baker McKenzie said its team advising Thomson Reuters is led by corporate partners Lisa Fontenot and Nancy Hamzo. (TPG.com)
• Jenner & Block stayed busy in 2022, growing revenue by 9.7% to $510.8 million, while its average profits per equity partner rose more than 10% to about $1.96 million. Firm leaders cited strength in litigation and investigations, some big deals, and “booming” education and energy practices. (American Lawyer)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Mississippi-founded Butler Snow opened a new office in Huntsville, Alabama, staffed by 22 attorneys and nine staff it picked up from recently merged Southeastern firm Maynard Nexen.(ButlerSnow.com)
• UK-headquartered law firms hired more partners in London than their US-led rivals did in 2022, but the American firms are still on top in the long-term trend for hiring, according to new data. (Law.com International)
• Willkie Farr & Gallagher raised its pay for junior lawyers in London by about 3% to 150,000 pounds ($187,000). That’s more than several of its US rivals but less than Akin’s 179,000 pounds. (Legal Cheek)
• A slide from a recent Paul Hastings presentation to new attorneys went viral, sparking debate over its tone, especially the assertion that the lawyers must be “online 24/7.” (American Lawyer)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• McGuireWoods hired former Justice Department criminal division trial attorney Justin Givens as counsel in Los Angeles in its government investigations and white collar litigation department. He earlier spent close to a decade at Quinn Emanuel. (McGuireWoods.com)
• Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman snagged Crowell & Moring emerging companies and venture capital co-leader Steven Ryan as partner in the Washington area in the firm’s corporate and securities-technology practice. (PillsburyLaw.com)
• Katten Muchin Rosenman hired financial services litigation and regulatory attorney Eric Hail as partner in Dallas in its class action and consumer finance litigation practice. He joins from Hunton Andrews Kurth, where he was a longtime partner. (Katten.com)
• Akerman started a health care litigation team based in Washington and led by partners Noam Fischman and Ayman Rizkalla. (Akerman.com)
• K&L Gates named intellectual property attorney Tyler Hong Shik Won managing partner of its Seoul, Korea, office. He also works out of the firm’s Washington office and advises on trade and antitrust issues. (KLGates.com)
• HAI Group, property-casualty insurance company for the affordable housing industry, hired Gordon & Rees partner Anthony B. (Tony) Corleto as chief legal and compliance officer. (Yahoo! Finance)

Legal Education

• A new donation from Philadelphia litigator Thomas R. Kline will allow Duquesne University’s law school to make significant improvements to the school, which was recently named for him. Drexel University also named its law school after Kline, who has given tens of millions of dollars to both schools. (Pittsburgh-Post Gazette)