Wake Up Call: Winston Gets 11-Lawyer Paris Transactions Team

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

• Winston & Strawn in Paris grabbed a transactional team of 11 attorneys, including four partners, from French firm Hoche Avocats. The cross-disciplinary group is led by partner Grine Lahreche, a private equity and M&A specialist, as is partner Edith Boucaya. Partner Sophie Dechaumet focuses on labor law and partner Ariane Berthoud, on finance. (Winston.com)
• Deal Update: Sidley Austin, with three separate lawyer teams, is representing former NBA star Magic Johnson, ProShares co-founder and CEO Michael Sapir, and a third investor joining Apollo Global Management Inc. co-founder Josh Harris in a $6.05 billion acquisition of the National Football League’s Washington Commanders team. Cravath Swaine & Moore is representing the Commanders and its sellers, Dan Snyder and family. Davis Polk & Wardwell said it is advising Harris and partners. Hogan Lovells said it is representing the Harris-led consortium including former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, and David Blitzer, Blackstone executive and co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment in the deal. (Businesswire)
• Aviation technology company Skyryse hired former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. general counsel Blake Bilstad as its chief legal officer and corporate secretary. A Cooley LLP associate early in his career, Bilstad was recently top lawyer at connected fitness and media company Beachbody Co. Inc. (Skyryse.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Akerman launched a staffing law litigation team to provide cross-practice legal services aimed at staffing companies. The team is led by partner Sarah Kroll-Rosenbaum. (Akerman.com)
• A Florida federal judge threatened to jail a Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney attorney who took a photo inside court. (Daily Business Review)
• As private equity firms compete to add to their assets under management and fees they increasingly see their rivals as potential acquisition targets. (WSJ)
• Several companies are criticizing the Federal Trade Commission for what they call intrusive and overly burdensome requests for records. (Corporate Counsel)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, in the market for a merger deal after losing dozens of partners, has lost two more partners, this time to UK-based insurance law firm Clyde & Co. Joining Clyde are Miami-based litigators Laura Besvinick and Julie Nevins. (Reuters)
• Akerman brought in veteran transactional tax attorney Anne Levin-Nussbaum as partner in New York in its renewable energy and electric power practice. She arrives from Mintz PC, where she was a member of the tax section and energy and sustainability group. (Akerman.com)
• Cozen O’Connor added tax attorney Christopher McLoon as a member in Philadelphia. He was previously partner at Nutter McClennen & Fish. (Cozen.com)
• Eversheds Sutherland added corporate restructuring attorney Jennifer Kimble as senior counsel in New York. She arrives from Lowenstein Sandler. (Eversheds-Sutherland.com)
• DLA Piper snagged Seyfarth Shaw real estate lawyer Michael Rechtin, a 30-year veteran who’s been partner at several other Big Law firms, as partner in Chicago. (DLA Piper)
• Hinshaw & Culbertson recruited insurance litigator Rebecca Moore as partner in the firm’s global insurance services practice group in Houston. She arrives from Sheehy, Ware, Pappas & Grubbs. (HinshawLaw.com)
• Employer-side worklaw firm Fisher Phillips said litigator Wendy Baker, a former partner at the firm, rejoined as of counsel in Los Angeles. She arrives from The Arts Institutes International, where she was vice president and general counsel. (FisherPhillips.com)

Technology

• UK corporate legal department leaders in a recent survey said their law firms lack the technology to meet their needs. (Times of London)