Wake Up Call: CMS Examines Overlap as Europe M&A Deals Hit Low

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

• CMS law firm is holding consultations about overlap after European merger and acquisition activity fell to a 10-year low in the first of half of 2023. CMS declined to comment on the consultation, which would affect the firm’s UK practice. (The Global Legal Post)
• Spencer Fane will combine with the 15-attorney Pahl & McCay, which has offices in San Jose and Santa Monica, California. Spencer Fane, founded in Kansas City, Missouri, said the deal will expand its reach “into new practice areas and geographies.” (Spencer Fane)
• The MyPillow founder yells and curses at lawyers in a newly released video of his deposition recorded in March for a defamation suit from Dominion Voting Systems employee Eric Coomer. “You are a disgusting lawyer, period,” Mike Lindell says in the recording. (The Hill)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Wendy Wu has joined Nardello & Co. as a managing director in the Los Angeles office and will work with the digital investigations and cyber defense practice. She served as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
• Katy Lukaszewski has joined Simpson Thacher as a partner with the energy and infrastructure practice in Houston.
• Susan L. Shin has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a partner in New York. She previously practiced at Weil Gotshal as a partner in the complex litigation practice.
• Jonathan “Jed” Davis has joined FisherBroyles as a partner.
• David Patton has joined Kaplan Hecker & Fink as a partner in New York.
• Michael Word has joined Dykema Gossett as a member of the intellectual property department in Chicago. He practiced at Mayer Brown.