Wake Up Call: US News Delays New Ratings as Law Schools Complain

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

• US News & World Report delayed the release of its latest full law school ratings as some schools said they may include incorrect data. (Reuters) (Law.com) (Above The Law)
• Philadelphia-founded Fox Rothschild’s busy trial practice powered 4.4% growth in its gross revenue to $676 million in 2022, despite a drought in deal work. The firm’s average profits per equity partner lost 4.6% to $869,918, according to a report based on early data. (Legal Intelligencer)
• The Biden administration’s focus on climate action is boosting Big Law firms’ revenue from environmental work. (National Law Journal)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz, who worked on an investigation of former President Donald Trump, hired Paul Weiss partner Ted Wells to represent him in Pomerantz’s federal lawsuit challenging a US House Judiciary Committee subpoena. (New York Law Journal)
• Big London-based firm Watson Farley & Williams opened an office in Tokyo, Japan, with a team of lawyers and paralegals, most of whom were previously at White & Case. The team is led by two former White & Case partners, asset finance partner Simon Collins, who relocated from Hong Kong, and project finance partner Keisuke Imon, who both joined WFW in May 2022. Of counsel Shusuke Fukunaga also joined the office. (WFW.com)
• Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis said she’s being harassed online by supporters of Trump because she hasn’t supported the former president 100%. (Newsweek)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Holland & Knight snagged longtime McDermott Will & Emery corporate and private equity attorney Andrew McCune as a partner in Chicago. (HKLaw.com)
• Mintz PC hired renewable energy and life sciences-focused private equity attorney Andrew Hulsh as a member in New York. He arrives from Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders, where he was partner. He was earlier vice chairman of pre-merger Pepper Hamilton’s corporate and securities practice and was co-chair of Mayer Brown’s North America private equity practice. (Mintz.com)
• Bracewell LLP picked up state and local tax attorney Bucky Brannen as partner in Dallas, Texas. He arrives from Baker Botts. (Bracewell.com)
• K&L Gates added two partners in Sydney, Australia, getting tax attorney Stuart Broadfoot from King & Wood Mallesons and energy, infrastructure, and resources attorney James Durnall from Bird & Bird. (KLGates.com)
• Eckert Seamans added commercial litigator Jonathan Hugg as a member in Philadelphia. He’s a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney and arrives from Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, where he was co-chair of the financial services litigation group. Eckert also recruited attorney Robert DeSousa, former Pennsylvania state director to then-US Republican Senator Patrick Toomey, as government affairs counsel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. (EckertSeamans.com)
• New Jersey-based McCarter & English’s lobbying arm brought in former Morris County prosecutor and candidate for governor Michael Murphy, who founded New Jersey lobbying firm ImpactNJ. (McCarterGS.com)
• The Securities and Exchange Commission named former Zuckerman Spaeder white collar and criminal defense partner Deborah Jeffrey as inspector general effective May 7. She’s currently inspector general of Americorps. (SEC.gov)
• Houston-based Genesis Energy LP promoted chief legal officer and senior vice president Kristen Jesulaitis to chief financial officer and chief legal officer. She’s a former corporate and securities partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. (Nasdaq.com)
• Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company Continental Realty Corporation hired real estate in-house veteran Stephanie Shack as senior vice president and general counsel. She was recently senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for Enterprise Community Investment, Inc. (CRCRealty.com)

Technology

• Proskauer Rose’s big data breach, which left clients’ sensitive legal and financial data unsecured, was caused by oversight errors, not cloud technology, according to cybersecurity professionals. (Legaltech News)