Wake Up Call: Vaccine Settlement Spurs $2.1 Million Fee Fight

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

• A Covid vaccine settlement may turn on legal fees. Santa Clara County agreed to pay nearly $193,000 to three former employees who said they lost their jobs after refusing vaccination on religious grounds, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post. But the bigger fight may be over fees: their lawyers are seeking another $2.1 million after billing more than 3,300 hours in the case. The county is also in settlement talks in a similar federal suit brought by 33 other former employees. (Daily Post)
• A&O Shearman is outsourcing more support work in London. The firm is moving document production and checking staff to Williams Lea as it continues to look for post-merger savings following the Allen & Overy–Shearman & Sterling tie-up. No affected employees are expected to lose their jobs immediately, but the move follows other recent cuts in London across finance, marketing, and IT. (RollOnFriday)
• An Arnold & Porter tech leader is sounding the alarm on marriage rights. Tom Magnani, the firm’s San Francisco-based co-chair of its technology, media, and AI groups, told the San Francisco Business Times he fears the Supreme Court could revisit marriage equality. Magnani also recalled working on the legal team that helped then-Mayor Gavin Newsom begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses in San Francisco in 2004. (San Francisco Business Times)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Deborah Rotenberg joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in its health care and FDA practice in Sacramento. She joins from Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld.
• Andrew Bettwy and Jinyoung Joo joined King & Spalding as partners in its finance and restructuring practice group in New York. They join from Proskauer Rose LLP.
• Brian Willbur joined Polsinelli as a principal in its venture capital and emerging growth companies practice in San Francisco. He joins from Gunderson Dettmer LLP, according to his LinkedIn profile.
• Sarah Quinn joined Nixon Peabody as a partner in its labor and employment practice in Chicago. She joins from Husch Blackwell, according to her LinkedIn profile.