Wake Up Call: As Much As $30 Million ‘New Top Rung’ for Laterals

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

• Though $20 million recently seemed to be “the standard of top partner pay” at many elite firms, industry observers say $25 million to $30 million is “the new top rung for valuable laterals” and certain high-performing partners and Big Law leaders. Partner pay is unlike the tech bubble, said one legal search executive. “I don’t think it’s going to burst,” she said. (Law.com)
• Foley & Lardner has poached a three-partner healthcare team from K&L Gates to open a Raleigh, North Carolina office with Leah D’Aurora Richardson, and bolster its outposts in Miami with Andrea Cunha and in Dallas with Joshua Skora. For now, Foley’s Raleigh office is just made up of Richardson as the sole attorney, but the firm is “excited to invest and grow in the Raleigh market,” said Foley Chairman Daljit Doogal. (Global Legal Post)
• Iranian authorities have sentenced the lawyer Mehdi Shakibafar to more than 22 months in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader,” and fomenting “propaganda against the regime.” Shakibafar initially was acquitted by a lower court—until the prosecutor’s office appealed, arguing that the acquittal would “embolden the defendant.” (IranWire)
• Channah Norman, former chief counsel for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, has been named co-chair of Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s art law practice—a practice that’s relatively rare among Big Law firms. Shook Executive Committee Member Alicia Donahue and Class Action & Appellate Litigation Co-Chair Tristan Duncan will co-lead the new group with Norman. (Shook, Hardy & Bacon)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Emma Mann-Meginniss has joined Cooley as a partner in its emerging companies and venture capital practice in San Francisco. She joins from Goodwin Procter.
• Curtis Doty has joined Chapman and Cutler’s corporate and securities department as a partner in the New York office. He joins from Mayer Brown.
• Stephen Ma has joined Saul Ewing as a litigation partner in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
• Dylan Metzner has joined Buchalter’s Denver office as a shareholder specializing in tax planning and estate matters.