Welcome to today’s roundup of important legal news relevant to lawyers, law firms and corporate legal professionals.
Todd Blanche, a former partner at Cadwalader and a registered New York Democrat, has switched gears to represent Donald Trump as a Florida Republican running his own firm. Interestingly, with Cadwalader’s blessing, Blanche had in recent years represented other Trump associates such as Paul Manafort and Boris Ephsteyn.
UK-founded Magic Circle firm Linklaters is leveraging artificial intelligence to boost client service. For this, the firm has brought onboard consulting giant Accenture to study its technology, templates and processes. The goal is to improve service by enhancing client interactions.
Harvard University has enlisted the services of King & Spalding, along with partner Sally Yates, a former US deputy attorney general. This move is to defend the university in an ongoing investigation by the US House of Representatives committee into its responses to reported cases of antisemitism on campus. The university already has a team of lawyers from WilmerHale working on the issue.
Moving on to lateral shifts, there have been several significant moves recently. Daja Apetz-Dreier has left Reed Smith where she was managing partner of their Munich office, to join Morgan Lewis as a litigation partner. Lisa Fitzgerald, formerly co-head of the national digital economy practice at Lander & Rogers, is now a technology partner at Norton Rose Fulbright in Melbourne, Australia.
The intellectual property group at Holland & Knight has a new partner, Emmett Weindruch, who previously served Moore & Van Allen. Joseph Maher, former official of the Department of Homeland Security, has joined Nixon Peabody as a partner in Washington, D.C. Ghislaine Torres Bruner, formerly of Polsinelli, has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in Denver. Chiara Anceschi has moved from DLA Piper to join K&L Gates as a finance practice partner in Milan, Italy. Lastly, Raja Sékaran, John Puente, and Melissa Borrelli have joined the health care and life sciences practice at Epstein Becker Green in San Francisco.
The above developments underline the dynamism of the legal sector, showcasing significant moves across firms and geographies, while underscoring the increasing importance of AI as a tool to deliver client service. (via Bloomberg Law)