Wake Up Call: Yale Law Still Tops Latest US News Rankings

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

• Yale Law School still sits atop the latest US News & World Report law school ratings, months after Yale triggered a wave of schools that said they would no longer participate in the program, calling it flawed. In a preview of the new rankings, Yale shares the top spot with Stanford Law. (USNews.com)
• Baker Donelson said strong demand, rate hikes of up to 9%, and complex work in areas including electric vehicles helped it have its first record year since 2017. The Memphis-headquartered firm’s revenues rose 8.5% to a record $412.76 million in 2022. Its average profits per equity partner jumped 10.7% to $746,000, as its equity partnership shrank about 8% and it cut costs including office space reductions, according to a report based on preliminary data. (Daily Report)
• White & Case joined four Chinese law firms in advising various parties in two of Saudi oil giant Aramco’s latest oil projects in China. (China Business Law Journal)
• Greenberg Traurig said it served as lead counsel to Erie County, New York, on a $1.54 billion agreement between New York State and the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills for a new stadium. The tax-backed deal was submitted for approval to the Erie County legislature for approval April 4. (GTLaw.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Large firms with Washington offices are investing in intellectual property practices to meet consistent demand for patent litigation and work related to the US International Trade Commission. (National Law Journal)
• The Securities and Exchange Commission is adding attorneys to its crypto enforcement unit, signaling increased regulation of digital assets. (Coin Desk)
• Manatt Phelps & Phillips credited its integrated legal and business consulting platform, including strong demand for its health care-related work, for its 3.6% revenue growth to $382.1 million in 2022. Its average PEP fell 4% to $2 million, as its equity partnership grew by 3.2%. (The Recorder)
• Several law firms in Missouri had double-digit profit gains in 2022, but profit growth was more mixed. (American Lawyer)
• Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft signed a lease for smaller space in Washington. (Washington Business Journal)
• Munich Re Specialty Insurance expanded its excess & surplus lawyers professional liability line to include primary and excess coverage for firms with 11 or more attorneys, as well as firms that have an intellectual property practice. (Reinsurance News)
• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stripped all legal staff in the Department of Corrections of their assistant AG/deputy AG designations. The attorney general hasn’t given a reason for the move, which leaves the attorneys unable to represent the state in litigation. (Alabama Political Reporter)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Epstein Becker Green added labor and employment trial lawyer Johner T. Wilson as a member in Chicago. He arrives from Dinsmore & Shohl, where he was a member of the board of directors and led the Chicago office’s labor and employment team. (EBGLaw.com)
• Employer-side worklaw firm Fisher Phillips hired Armstrong Teasdale litigation partner Vance Knapp as of counsel in Denver, Colorado. (FisherPhillips.com)
• Dentons brought in public policy and real estate attorney Ryan Mann as of counsel in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he was previously special counsel to the mayor. Mann, who was at Dentons earlier in his career, served as special assistant to Indiana Democrat US Senator Joe Donnelly. (Dentons)
• Haynes and Boone promoted eight lawyers to counsel in five offices in Texas, New York, and London. (HaynesBoone.com)

Technology

• Space lawyers are calling for legal guidelines that would protect lunar landmarks, such as the bootprint that Neil Armstrong’s put into the moon soil in 1969. (ExtremeTech.com)