Wake Up Call: Armstrong Exits Salt Lake After Partners Leave

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

• Armstrong Teasdale is shuttering its Salt Lake City office after a four-partner team left the firm for the Utah affiliate of Dentons. "(I)t’s not the right time for us to be there,” said the managing partner of Armstrong, which opened in Utah’s capital in 2020. (Law.com)
• Resignations of two British judges from Hong Kong’s highest court have sparked concerns about the sanctity of the rule of law in the “China-ruled” territory. Big Law firms like Winston & Strawn and Dechert have either closed their Hong Kong offices or are considering doing so, as Western businesses face mounting pressure from a capital market downturn and China-US tensions. (Reuters)
• The decision of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to open in Singapore reflects “an evolution of South East Asia and India, and the growing importance of Singapore globally” that made it “increasingly clear we needed to have a physical presence on the ground,” said name partner John Quinn. A “significant number” of US firms have opened there since 2020, including Orrick, Cooley, and Goodwin Procter. (Global Legal Post)
• Kim Taylor has been appointed to be Duke University’s next general counsel, replacing Pamela Bernard, who is retiring after 18 years in the role. Taylor, who begins September 1, has served as GC for the University of Chicago since 2014. (The Duke Chronicle)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Kristine Koren has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a private funds partner in New York. She joins from Mayer Brown.
• Benjamin Heriaud has joined Vinson & Elkins as a New York-based partner in its mergers and acquisitions and capital markets practice group in New York. He joins from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
• Katherine Blair has joined Jones Day as a partner in its financial markets practice in Los Angeles.
• Gregory Saiontz has joined DLA Piper as a partner with its corporate practice in Washington.
• James Newland has joined Dentons as a partner with its litigation practice in Washington.
• Melissa Kerin Reagan and Katie Varholak have joined the Denver office of Holland & Hart as partners in its commercial litigation practice. They join from Sherman & Howard.
• Brett Dockwell has joined Haynes and Boone as a real estate litigation partner in New York. He joins from Morrison Cohen.
• Jason Gersting has joined Snell & Wilmer as a partner in its intellectual property practice group in Orange County, California. He joins from Knobbe Martens.
• Brian Mahoney has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as a partner in the firm’s insurance industry group in Chicago.
• Andrew Dupre and Brian Lemon have joined Akerman as litigation partners in a newly established Wilmington, Delaware, office.
• Gerald Griffiths has joined Littler Mendelson as a partner with the firm’s employment and labor law practice in Toronto. He joins from Sherrard Kuzz.