Wake Up Call: Eastman Urges Trump to Probe Bank of America

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

• Donald Trump’s former lawyer urged the president to begin an investigation into Bank of America, which he claims closed his accounts because of his political views. John Eastman was told his accounts were being shut in September 2023, one month after he was indicted with Trump in the criminal Georgia election subversion case. (The Telegraph)
• Nearly half of surveyed officers in Canadian legal departments don’t consider equality, diversity, and inclusion a priority at their organization, according to the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association’s annual in-house counsel report. They also reported artificial intelligence as the second biggest challenge behind workload management. (Canadian Lawyer)
• Two law firm staff were banned from the profession for dealing drugs to their friends after they were caught with cocaine-measuring paraphernalia in a police raid. They were case managers in the remortgaging department for conveyancing specialist O’Neill Patient Solicitors in the UK. (RollOnFriday)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Evan Palenschat joined Sidley as a partner in its global finance practice in Chicago. He joins from Proskauer Rose.
• Charles Bogle and James Wood joined Jones Day as partners in its corporate practice in Sydney.
• Geoff O’Dea joined Fried Frank as a partner in its restructuring department in London. He joins from Goodwin Procter.
• Taylor Hanks joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in its commercial litigation practice in Atlanta.
• Shannon Burr joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani in its construction practice in New Orleans.
• Aaron Sobaski joined Buchalter as a shareholder in Orange County Calif.
• Erik Gerding joined Freshfields as a corporate partner. He joins from the Securities and Exchange Commission.