Wake Up Call: Five Firms Barred From NFL Settlement Program

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

• Five law firms have been barred from the NFL concussion settlement program. Court-appointed officials overseeing the league’s $1 billion fund found the firms fraudulently steered former players to doctors willing to produce Parkinson’s disease diagnoses that could support large payouts, according to an Associated Press report carried by ABC News. The report says 57 claims worth more than $95 million were approved before the conduct came under scrutiny, with lawyers receiving about $20 million of that total. (ABC News)
• Lawyers are building a new playbook against immigration detention. Advocacy groups and pro bono attorneys are creating regional “habeas projects” to connect detained immigrants with lawyers who can challenge allegedly unlawful confinement in federal court. The effort has grown quickly as the Trump administration expands mandatory detention and restricts bond hearings, driving a surge in habeas filings and forcing lawyers in new practice areas to get up to speed on federal immigration detention fights. (Truthout)
• A former Jones Day partner who told clients to “burn” evidence has been suspended for two years. Raymond McKeeve, who had already been found in contempt of court over the destruction of material tied to an Ocado corporate espionage dispute, was also ordered by a disciplinary tribunal to pay additional costs. The tribunal said his actions harmed both the proceedings and the reputation of the profession, though it stopped short of permanently barring him from practice in the UK. (The Times)
• A former Morgan Lewis leader is retiring from Penn State Dickinson Law. Tom Sharbaugh, who spent 15 years as Morgan Lewis’ managing partner of operations before joining the faculty, is stepping down after building Penn State’s Entrepreneur Assistance Clinic into a statewide pro bono program for startups and small businesses. The university said the clinic at its peak served more than 1,800 new clients a year and gave law students hands-on experience advising early stage companies. (Penn State)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Dilen Kumar joined Akin LLP as a partner in its corporate practice in Dallas. He joins from Katten Muchin Rosenman, according to his LinkedIn profile.