Wake Up Call: Willkie Signs 20-Year Lease at Current Site in NYC

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

• Willkie Farr & Gallagher signed a 20-year lease for its current New York City location at 787 Seventh Ave., where the firm has been for 25 years. Willkie has more than 600 attorneys at its NYC headquarters and the 315,000 square feet of space “will undergo a full-scale renovation.” (Willkie Farr & Gallagher)
• Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, seen as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, speaks to the American Bar Association House of Delegates Aug. 5 in Chicago, two weeks before the city hosts the Democratic National Convention. The annual ABA meeting includes a half-day summit on ensuring American democracy. (American Bar Association)
• Maine is making it easier for lawyers to qualify to take court-appointed cases as the number of low-income defendants jailed without representation grows. The Maine Commission on Public Defense Services adopted the emergency rule “to be a little bit more flexible,” executive director Jim Billings said. (Bangor Daily News)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• David Hendrix joined Lewis Brisbois as a partner in the complex business and commercial litigation and banking and finance practices. He joins from GrayRobinson.
• Andrew McClain joined Dentons as a partner in its restructuring, insolvency, and bankruptcy practice in Chicago.
• Anne Lapierre, Arnaud Bélisaire and Simon Cudennec joined Bracewell as partners in its new Paris energy and infrastructure team. All three partners join from Norton Rose Fulbright.