Wake Up Call: Trump Allies Push Federalist Society to the Side

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

• In a “striking shift,” Trump allies are planning to staff a second-term administration with lawyers through recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society, the influential conservative legal group. The pivot toward “a more aggressive breed” of right-wing lawyer is being shepherded by former Trump White House aides Stephen Miller and John McEntee. Some names under consideration can be found here. (New York Times)
• Three states are lined up to be the first to administer the NextGen bar exam, which will replace the test currently given to would-be attorneys across the US. Bar admission groups in Maryland, Missouri, and Oregon plans to administer the new test in July 2026, the National Conference of Bar Examiners said, with Wyoming and Connecticut not far behind. (NCBE)
• The Oct. 27 death of Monica Bay brought about several glowing tributes to the pioneering legal technology journalist, which referred to her as a mentor and role model to others in the field. Bay spent 17 years as editor of Law Technology News, now called Legaltech News. She was 74. (LawSites)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Jenna McGrath has joined Milbank LLP as a partner with the global project, energy, and infrastructure finance group in Washington, D.C. She joins from Paul Hastings.
• Stephanie K. Hor-Chen has joined Blank Rome as a partner with the finance, restructuring, and bankruptcy group in Chicago. She joins from Katten Muchin Rosenman.
• Stuart Irvin has joined Reed Smith as partner in the entertainment and media industry group in the Washington, D.C., office. He joins from Covington & Burling.
• Matthew Comstock has joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as partner in the asset management department in Washington, D.C., as part of the regulatory and enforcement and Willkie digital works practices. He was most recently a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.
• Joseph Drayton has joined Proskauer Rose as a partner with the intellectual property group in New York. He joins from Cooley LLP.
• Alessandra Love Simons has joined Debevoise & Plimpton as a partner in the mergers and acquisitions group in the San Francisco office.
• DLA Piper Americas Chair Frank Ryan has been elected to another term in the leadership role.
• Scott M. Masaitis has joined Nutter as a partner with the tax department in New York. He served as the leader of the national M&A strategic tax practice at KPMG.
• Josh Hedrick and Kevin Corcoran have joined Spencer Fane as partners with the litigation and dispute resolution practice in Texas.