Wake Up Call: Former Oil Executive Sues Dorsey for Malpractice

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

• Dorsey & Whitney has been sued for legal malpractice by a former oil executive who claims the firm improperly handled a different malpractice claim against his former attorneys with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath. Dorsey has denied the allegations, stating that Michael Reger hadn’t paid legal bills worth $600,000, and has blamed the firm “for the consequences of his own conduct.” (Star Tribune)
• DLA Piper has hired former UK cabinet minister Lord David Blunkett as an adviser who will provide public policy advice to clients and “strategic advice” to the firm. Blunkett has been a member of the House of Lords since 2015. (Global Legal Post)
• Ericsson Inc. says Rebecca “Becky” Rohr will be the company’s new chief compliance officer. She’ll oversee Ericsson’s compliance team as well as its investigations office, and will report to group chief legal officer Scott Dresser. (Ericsson)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Monica K. Thurmond has joined Fried Frank as a partner with the finance practice in New York. She was a member of the capital markets and finance groups and former deputy chair of the corporate department at Paul Weiss.
• Gregory Williams and Richard Smith have joined Sidley Austin as partners in the litigation practice group in Washington, DC. Williams was head of the global disputes practice and a member of the management committee at Wiley Rein, and Smith co-chaired the commercial litigation group.
• Judith Seddon has joined Ashurst, a white collar crime and investigations practitioner, as a partner in London. She joins from Dechert.
• Haley Morrison has joined Epstein Becker Green as a member of the employment, labor, and workforce management practice in Portland, Oregon.
• Mark Miller has joined the tax, executive compensation, and benefits practice at Holland & Knight as a partner in Nashville. He was previously a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.
• Neely Agin has returned to Norton Rose Fulbright as US head of antitrust in Washington, DC.
• Josh Beser has joined Orrick’s technology companies group as a corporate partner in New York.
• Reagan Larkin has joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner with the commercial litigation and real estate practice groups in Denver.
• Kevin Petrasic and Matthew Bornfreund have joined Troutman Pepper as financial services partners in Washington, DC. They join from Davis Wright Tremaine.
• Peter S. Burke has joined as a partner in the global finance practice of Sidley Austin in Century City. He practiced as a global finance partner and vice chair of the Los Angeles office at Paul Hastings.
• George Hinchey has returned to Haynes and Boone as a partner with the real estate practice group in San Antonio, Texas.
• Todd Kegler has joined BakerHostetler as a partner with the business practice group and as a member of the mergers and acquisitions team in Columbus, Ohio.
• Lisa LeCointe-Cephas has joined DLA Piper as a partner and chair of the life sciences sector in New York.
• Tritia M. Murata and David P. Zins have joined Davis Wright Tremaine as partners with the employment law practice in Los Angeles. They join from Morrison Foerster.
• Andrew Westgate has joined DLA Piper as a partner with the project and energy practice in New York.
• Bob Welty has joined Frost Brown Todd as a managing director in Charleston, SC.
• Andrew Karp has joined Cadwalader as a partner in New York. Karp served as deputy general counsel and senior special counsel at the FDIC.
• Steven Lofchie and Mark Highman have joined Norton Rose Fulbright as partners with the financial services team in New York. They join from Fried Frank.