Wake Up Call: Robinson Hires Firm to Investigate ‘False Smears’

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

• Mark Robinson, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina, has hired Binnall Law Group to investigate what he says are “false smears” in a CNN report that said the candidate called himself a “black NAZI” on a pornographic website message board. Robinson threatened to sue CNN earlier in the week. (The News & Observer)
• The City of London Law Society criticized proposals by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to create new fining bands with the power to impose unlimited financial penalties on the worst offending law firms and solicitors. The body, which represents London solicitors, called the authority’s proposals “arbitrary” and “not fit for purpose.” (Legal Cheek)
• US District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted prosecutors’ request to file an up-to-180-page legal brief arguing why Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election should not be immune from criminal prosecution. Special counsel Jack Smith’s office argued that the extra-long briefing was necessary due to the Supreme Court’s July ruling on presidential immunity, which required her as trial judge to decide what allegations and evidence against Trump could be admissible. (The Washington Post)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Birgit Kraml joined DLA Piper as a partner and head of its real estate practice in Vienna. She joins from Wolf Theiss.
• Frank Lamancusa, Denise Wood, and Timothy Bransford joined Greenberg Traurig as shareholders. They join from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
• Amanda Wieker joined McGuireWoods as a partner in its intellectual property practice group. She joins from the US Patent & Trademark Office.
• Richard Wells joined Venable as a partner in its intellectual property litigation and technology group in Washington.
• Kara Ward joined Baker Donelson as a shareholder in Washington. She joins from Falcon Capital Advisors.
• Tami Kay Lee joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as a partner in its insurance industry group in Los Angeles.