Wake Up Call: Jones Day’s Texas Two-Step Take at $107 Million

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

• Jones Day has reportedly raked in about $107 million in fee revenue in five years using a controversial tactic that lets solvent companies shuffle their mass tort liabilities off to affiliated companies that then file for bankruptcy. The firm had filed four bankruptcies using the so-called Texas two-step method when a federal appeals court ruling in January turned off the music for one of them. Three of the cases are still pending. (American Lawyer)
• UK and US law firms in London have stopped shelling out big bonuses to associates joining them as a slump in dealmaking hits legal sector demand causing some job cuts, big recruiters said. (Financial Times)
• London law firms continued to see revenues grow in the last months of 2022 and have so far managed to avoid layoffs, according to a report citing government data. (City AM)
• Latham & Watkins said a cross-border corporate team led by partners Joshua Kiernan in London and Ryan Lynch in Houston advised Israel-based Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd. on the global platform’s $252 million US initial public offering Friday on the Nasdaq exchange. (Lw.com) (Businesswire)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Beijing-based Hylands Law Firm merged with a San Francisco, California, boutique to open an office in the US city, the Chinese firm’s first office outside of China. The firm said the new office will help it represent Chinese clients on their overseas business activities, particularly in areas such as outbound investments, acquisitions, and commerce. (Law.com International)
• Proskauer Rose’s New York-based chair Steve Ellis recently flew to London to question a star partner who was accused of bullying by associates and fellow partners, according to a report. In another London report, a former Simpson Thacher paralegal who was suspended for aggression against an attorney at the firm was allowed to return to the firm when he became an attorney. He joined the same practice as the lawyer he threatened, the report says. (Roll On Friday)
• Steve Bannon, longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, is reportedly refusing to fully pay his lawyers for big legal bills they’ve built up defending him for several years (Daily Beast)
• O’Melveny & Myers said partner Katrina Robson led the trial team representing students, parents, teachers, and advocacy groups that recently won a ruling that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is unconstitutional. Robson is a former high school English and speech teacher. (OMM.com)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Former Clifford Chance global managing partner Matthew Layton joined FTI Consulting, Inc. as senior adviser to Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. Layton retired from Clifford Chance in July 2022 after about 40 years at the elite London-based law firm. (FTIConsulting.com)
• San Diego-headquartered insurance and civil litigation defense firm Tyson Mendes promoted four attorneys to regional manager roles covering 13 states. (TysonMendes.com)

Legal Education

• The Florida St. Thomas University College of Law announced it added “Benjamin L. Crump” to its title in recognition of the Black civil rights lawyer. The school is now known as the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University. (ABAJournal)