Wake Up Call: Davis Polk Links Bonuses to In-Office Attendance

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

Law firms are getting tough on their in-office policies. Davis Polk is telling associates they’ll have to comply with its mandatory Tuesday-Thursday in-office policy if they want to get their bonuses, a legal blog reported. (Above The Law) Sidley Austin announced a similar policy in January. (BLAW)
By contrast, Seward & Kissel said it will have a fully remote work environment from July 28 through Sept. 5, as well as during the week of Thanksgiving and the last week of December. (Above The Law)
After a record-smashing 2021, Paul Weiss saw revenue fall 2.4% to $1.8 billion in 2022, as corporate and deal work contracted. Average profits per equity partner declined 7.1% to $5.73 million. The firm said that was still its second-best year ever, as its litigation, regulatory, and enforcement matters surged, according to a report based on early data. (American Lawyer)
O’Melveny & Myers advised Splashtop, a provider of remote information technology access tools, on its acquisition of Foxpass, a network access management vendor. No financial details were disclosed. O’Melveny said its deal team was led by Silicon Valley office head Paul Sieben. (OMM.com) Goodwin Procter is advising warehouse robot maker Berkshire Grey, Inc. on its agreement to be acquired by shareholder SoftBank Group Corp. and its affiliate in a deal worth around $375 million. Goodwin said its team was led by partners Mark Opper, John Haggerty, and Kirkie Maswoswe. (GoodwinLaw.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

Baxter International offered a $2.5 million stock award to lure McDermott Will & Emery partner David Rosenbloom, who was global head of the Chicago-headquartered law firm’s litigation practice group, to become senior vice president and general counsel at the company. (Corporate Counsel)
Worklaw-focused Jackson Lewis credited high demand and careful expense management for its 5.2% growth in revenues to $579.6 million in 2022. The firm’s PEP ticked up 0.7% to $752,000, although it added about 13 equity partners. (American Lawyer)
A lawyer says she quit her 10-plus hours a day job at a law firm to become an OnlyFans creator. She says she’s making a lot more money now and is happier. (Business Insider)
Florida authorities charged a Tampa-area plastic surgeon with murder, accusing him of killing a lawyer missing since last week. The lawyer worked for a firm that represents former co-workers the doctor has been suing in a business dispute. (Associated Press)

Winston & Strawn hired Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft corporate lawyers Chris Gavin and Taylor Speers as partners in its structured finance practice and transactions department. Gavin joins in New York and will serve as one of the co-chairs of the structured finance practice. Speers joins in Dallas. (Winston.com)
Nelson Mullins LLP hired government relations attorney and lobbyist Tom Lee as a partner in Nashville, Tennessee. According to his LinkedIn profile, Lee was a partner at Frost Brown Todd, where he was Nashville member in charge and founding principal of its government affairs practice. (NelsonMullins.com)
Alternative dispute resolution services provider JAMS added retired DC Superior Court judge Gerald I Fisher to its panel of arbitrators, mediators, and special master/referees. (JAMSadr.com)
The International Franchise Association hired Big Law and in-house franchise law veteran Sarah Bush as its first-ever general counsel. Bush was recently general counsel for Mayweather Boxing + Fitness and was a franchise law attorney at DLA Piper, Foley & Lardner, and Perkins Coie. (Franchise.org)

Law deans at Emory University School of Law and at Mitchell Hamline School of Law announced plans to step down in 2024. (Law.com)