Wake Up Call: Atlanta Attorney Unrest Drives Legal Market Growth

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

• Atlanta’s legal market is undergoing an unprecedented shake-up as dozens of senior attorneys leave longtime local firms to join or launch new offices of national and international firms. The wave of departures has hit established firms such as Taylor Duma and Morris Manning & Martin particularly hard, fueling the rapid entry and expansion of outside players including Reed Smith, Seyfarth Shaw, and Clark Hill. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• A leaked webinar from Littler Mendelson shows its attorneys advising employers to consider flouting Rhode Island’s new ban on mandatory anti-union meetings, arguing the law is “likely unconstitutional” and vulnerable to legal challenge. Littler attorneys Jillian Folger-Hartwell and Gregory Tumolo emphasized the “tremendous value” of such meetings in union fights and suggested that defiance could serve as a test case. (American Prospect)
• Michael Velchik, the Justice Department lawyer leading the Trump administration’s case against Harvard over alleged antisemitism, once submitted an assignment written from Adolf Hitler’s perspective. The assignment was to write from the perspective of a controversial figure, but Velchik’s choice of Hitler “unnerved” the instructor and he was asked to redo the assignment. (The Boston Globe)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Nicole Bergstrom joined Proskauer as a partner in its litigation department in New York. She joins from Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.
• Nate Christensen rejoined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a partner in its private equity group in Dallas. He joins from Norton Rose Fulbright.
• Joseph Lee rejoined Weil as a partner in its intellectual property, technology, and science litigation practice in Los Angeles.
• Bradley Smith joined Gibson Dunn as a partner in its antitrust and competition practice group in New York.
• Jennifer Kennedy Gellie joined Pillsbury as a partner in its international trade group in Washington. She joins from the Justice Department.
• Thomas Lee joined Latham & Watkins as a partner in its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice in New York. He joins from Fried Frank.
• Eleanor Milne joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a partner in its energy and infrastructure practice in London. She joins from A&O Shearman.
• Kon Asimacopoulos and Michael Francies joined Sullivan & Cromwell as partners in its London office.
• Vadim Novik joined Fried Frank as a tax partner in New York.
• Gouri Sashital joined Ogletree Deakins as a shareholder in Detroit. She joins from Keller Thoma.
• Aurélia de Viry joined Pinsent Masons as a partner in its corporate tax team in Paris.
• Clint Dempsey joined Ashurst as a partner in its global loans practice in Dubai.
• Ryan Clinton joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a partner in its appeals practice in Austin. He joins from Davis Gerald & Cremer.