Wake Up Call: ABA Names Cincinnati Lawyer as President-Elect

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

• Barbara J. Howard, principal of the Barbara J. Howard law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio, was named president-elect of the American Bar Association. She will serve a one-year term in the role before becoming president of the association in August 2026 at the ABA Annual Meeting. (American Bar Association)
• Chicago attorney Danielle Malaty was sanctioned after twice submitting court filings containing fictitious case citations generated by ChatGPT, first in a Chicago Housing Authority lead-paint case and earlier in a workplace harassment lawsuit. Court records show the two filings in the latter case contained 12 “hallucinated” citations, prompting a $10 court fine and $1,000 payment to opposing counsel. (Chicago Tribune)
• The University of Pennsylvania’s Carey Law School is closing its Office of Equal Opportunity and Engagement and pausing applications for a full-tuition award for students pursuing racial justice in their legal careers. (The Grio)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Burt Snell joined Kirkland & Ellis as a products liability partner in Philadelphia. He joins from Butler Snow.
• Michael Cecka, David Fialkow, and Melissa Kato joined Troutman Pepper Locke as members of its commercial mortgage-backed securities special service team. They join from K&L Gates.
• William Lay joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a partner in its mergers and acquisitions practice in Boston. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
• Adil Khan joined Vedder Price as a shareholder in its litigation practice in Los Angeles. He joins from Greenberg Traurig.
• Natan Leyva joined Loeb & Loeb as a tax partner in Washington.