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Jurisdiction

D.C.

37 stories

D.C.People moves

Ashurst Perkins Coie hires Freshfields congressional investigations co-chair Austin Evers

Ashurst Perkins Coie has hired Austin Evers, co-chair of Freshfields' congressional investigations practice, as a partner in its complex litigation practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced on October 28. Evers, a former associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, advises on congressional inquiries, government investigations, political-risk counseling and crisis management. The move comes days before the U.S. midterm elections.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · CDR News, Law360 Pulse
N.Y.People moves

Skadden hires Weil SEC veterans Andrew Dean and Christopher Mulligan

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges partners Andrew Dean and Christopher Mulligan, both former Securities and Exchange Commission officials. Dean, a former co-head of the SEC Enforcement Division's asset management unit, joins Skadden's white collar and investigations group in New York. Mulligan, a former senior adviser in the SEC's Division of Examinations, joins its investment management group in Washington.

Announcement (The American Lawyer) → · Bloomberg Law, Global Legal Post
D.D.C.Litigation

Justice Department moves to disqualify Judge Ana Reyes from East Potomac golf course case

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. on October 16, 2026, asked U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes to recuse herself from the D.C. Preservation League's challenge to the administration's East Potomac golf course work, alleging hostility toward the government. The motion came days after Reyes issued a restraining order halting tree removal and sharply criticized government lawyers for failing to give promised notice.

Filing (The Washington Post) → · Bloomberg Law, The Washington Sun
D.D.C.Court order

Judge rejects DOJ bid to disqualify Susman Godfrey as ABA counsel in law firm executive order suit

Judge Amir H. Ali of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 16, 2026, denied the Justice Department's motion to disqualify Susman Godfrey from representing the American Bar Association in its suit challenging the administration's executive orders against law firms. The government called the firm a central player, but conceded it could not identify any Susman lawyer likely to be a necessary witness at trial.

Order (Bloomberg Law) → · U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (CourtListener RECAP)
UKProduct launches

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader signs Harvey and Legora deals in firmwide AI strategy

Hogan Lovells Cadwalader on October 16, 2026 unveiled a firmwide AI strategy that pairs agreements with both Harvey and Legora with its own ELTEMATE tools, a new AI Board and a Commercial Unit. Legora said the firm will roll out its platform across the Americas, EMEA and APAC after a pilot with more than 1,300 lawyers, while Harvey said its platform is in use across corporate, litigation and regulatory groups.

Announcement (The Lawyer) → · Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, Legora, Harvey
CAL.Litigation

DOJ sues California over more than 20,000 registrants it says are likely noncitizens

The Justice Department sued California on October 15, 2026, seeking to stop tabulation of vote-by-mail ballots from more than 20,000 people it says are likely noncitizens after comparing state voter rolls with federal immigration data. Voting-rights groups warned the suit may conflict with an October 9, 2026, D.C. court order vacating DOJ's voter-roll purge policy, Above the Law and Democracy Docket reported.

Filing (U.S. Department of Justice) → · Democracy Docket, Above the Law
D.C.People moves

Foley Hoag hires Miles & Stockbridge PE and M&A partner Brandon Cuffy in Washington

Foley Hoag on October 15, 2026 added Brandon Cuffy as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office focusing on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and private capital, Bloomberg Law and the firm reported. Cuffy joins from Miles & Stockbridge and advises sponsors, portfolio companies, searchers and founder-led businesses on buyouts, add-ons and sales.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Foley Hoag
D.C.People moves

Willkie hires Westinghouse nuclear counsel Raphael Kuyler as Washington energy partner

Willkie Farr & Gallagher hired Raphael Kuyler, a nuclear lawyer who joins from Westinghouse Electric, as a partner in its power and renewable energy practice in Washington, Bloomberg Law reported October 13, 2026. Law360 Pulse covered the hire October 14. Bloomberg Law said Kuyler advised Westinghouse on nuclear regulatory matters worldwide and led contract negotiations for major reactor projects.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

Debevoise hires DOJ antitrust acting litigation director Chip Nierlich in Washington

George "Chip" Nierlich joined Debevoise & Plimpton as a partner in its antitrust group in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg Law and Law360 Pulse reported October 13, 2026. Nierlich comes from the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, where he was most recently acting director of litigation and oversaw significant merger and conduct matters involving technology, healthcare and other industries.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Law360 Pulse

Rulings this week

All court orders

D.C.People moves

Mayer Brown hires Sheppard Mullin's Joseph Jay as white collar co-chair

Mayer Brown hired A. Joseph Jay III, who co-led Sheppard Mullin's governmental practice, as co-chair of its global investigations and white collar defense practice, Bloomberg Law reported October 13, 2026. Jay said he moved to work again with practice chair Ken Wainstein, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush; Bloomberg Law reported the pair wrote the University of North Carolina academic fraud report.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Mayer Brown
D.D.C.Court order

D.C. judge vacates DOJ voter roll policy as unauthorized, arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act

U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan vacated the Justice Department's Voter List Maintenance Policy on Oct. 9. She held that the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the NVRA and HAVA did not authorize it, and found it arbitrary and capricious under the APA and contrary to the Privacy Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. The court granted partial summary judgment to Common Cause and individual voters.

Opinion (Democracy Docket) → · The Hill, Courthouse News Service
D.C.People moves

Foley & Lardner hires former DOJ Antitrust assistant chief Jonathan Lasken in Washington

Foley & Lardner has added Jonathan Lasken as an antitrust partner in Washington after his service as assistant chief and senior litigation counsel in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division and earlier as senior trial counsel at the FTC. He worked on matters including the DOJ's Apple case and Google ad-tech litigation and FTC challenges to deals such as NVIDIA-Arm.

Announcement (Foley & Lardner) → · Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

Greenberg Traurig adds Steptoe life sciences litigator Jonathan Janow in D.C.

Greenberg Traurig has added Jonathan D. Janow as a litigation shareholder in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced Oct. 8. Janow joins from Steptoe, where Law360 Pulse reported he had arrived in February. According to the firm, he represents pharmaceutical and life sciences companies in antitrust, class action, trade secret and other complex commercial litigation in federal and state courts nationwide.

Announcement (Greenberg Traurig) → · Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

Linklaters hires Paul Hastings' Alejandro Martínez de Hoz to lead Latin American arbitration

Alejandro Martínez de Hoz has left Paul Hastings to join Linklaters as head of its Latin American arbitration practice in Washington, D.C., Law.com International reported on October 7, 2026. Linklaters said he has more than 17 years of experience in investment treaty and international commercial arbitration, including the first arbitration under the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement.

Announcement (Linklaters) → · Law.com International
D.C.People moves

Brown Rudnick launches national security practice in Washington with seven-person team

Brown Rudnick said on October 6, 2026, that it is launching a national security practice in Washington, D.C., with a seven-person team led by returning partner Patrick Gilman, most recently Greenberg Traurig's national security co-chair. The group includes six lawyers and a director of intelligence, and follows the firm's August addition of a 34-lawyer IP litigation group.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Brown Rudnick, Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

Latham hires Baker Botts' Lisa Kattan as ITC practice co-chair in Washington

Latham & Watkins said on October 5, 2026, that Lisa Kattan has joined its Washington, D.C., office from Baker Botts as a partner in its intellectual property litigation practice and co-chair of its International Trade Commission practice. Kattan represents technology and life sciences companies in Section 337 investigations and related patent disputes and earlier spent five years at the ITC as a senior investigative attorney.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · PR Newswire
D.C.People moves

Squire Patton Boggs hires Womble Bond Dickinson capital markets partner Reid Avett

F. Reid Avett has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in its global corporate practice in Washington, D.C., from Womble Bond Dickinson, the firm announced on October 5, 2026. Avett, a licensed CPA, advises on capital markets transactions, corporate governance, securities law compliance, shareholder matters, M&A, and stock exchange listing requirements.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

O'Melveny hires SEC enforcement lawyer D. Mark Cave as Washington partner

O'Melveny & Myers said on October 5, 2026, that D. Mark Cave has joined its white collar defense and corporate investigations practice as a partner in Washington, D.C., from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement staff. Cave advises corporations, financial institutions, investment advisers, broker-dealers, executives, and boards in SEC enforcement proceedings and related regulatory matters.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Law360 Pulse
FLA.People moves

Carlton Fields elects Richard Choi to succeed longtime CEO Gary Sasso in 2028

Carlton Fields has elected Richard Choi, managing shareholder of its Washington, D.C., office and a veteran financial services lawyer, as its next chief executive officer, the National Law Journal and Law360 reported on October 5, 2026. Choi will succeed Gary Sasso, who has led the firm as president and CEO for two decades, on January 1, 2028.

Announcement (The National Law Journal) → · Law360 Pulse
D.C.People moves

Morrison Foerster hires ex-Associate Deputy AG Paul Perkins to chair False Claims Act practice in DC

Paul Perkins joined Morrison Foerster as a Washington, D.C. partner in Investigations + White Collar Defense and chair of the False Claims Act practice, Bloomberg Law and the firm reported on September 22, 2026. He most recently served as Associate Deputy Attorney General after senior Civil Fraud Section roles at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Morrison Foerster
D.C.People moves

Mayer Brown hires Alston & Bird investigations partner Albert BJ Stieglitz in Washington

Albert "BJ" Stieglitz joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its Global Investigations & White Collar Defense practice in Washington, D.C., Bloomberg Law and the firm reported on September 22, 2026. He joins from Alston & Bird after nearly 13 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he led fraud and FCPA investigations in the Criminal Division Fraud Section and served a dual secondment to the UK Serious Fraud Office and Financial Conduct Authority.

Announcement (Bloomberg Law) → · Mayer Brown
D.C.People moves

Crowell & Moring adds former EPA counsel Michele Knorr in D.C. environment group

Crowell & Moring announced on September 22, 2026 that Michele Knorr, a former attorney in the U.S. EPA Office of General Counsel, joined as senior counsel in its Environment & Natural Resources Group in Washington, D.C., Law360 Pulse reported the following day. Knorr will advise on agricultural technology and chemical regulatory issues, including FIFRA and crop-protection matters.

Announcement (Crowell & Moring) → · Law360 Pulse
D.D.C.Litigation

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico sue Trump in federal court over White House press access ban

CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a joint lawsuit against President Donald Trump and senior administration officials in Washington federal court on September 21, 2026, challenging the revocation of press credentials. The twenty-seven-page complaint alleges the administration violated the First Amendment by imposing viewpoint-discriminatory exclusions based on editorial coverage and violated Fifth Amendment due process by banning journalists without notice, hearing, or published standards.

Filing (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) → · NPR, Bloomberg Law, Journal Record
D.C.People moves

Mayer Brown hires former Fed senior special counsel Andrew Hartlage for DC public policy practice

Andrew Hartlage joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its Public Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced on September 21, 2026. He brings more than 13 years of financial services policy experience, most recently as senior special counsel in the Federal Reserve Board Legal Division, and was lately on assignment to the House Financial Services Committee staff.

Announcement (Pulse2) → · Mayer Brown
U.S. FEDLitigation

ACC sues The L Suite over Lloyd AI use of ACC materials and trademarks

On September 10, 2026 the Association of Corporate Counsel sued The Suite, Inc. (d/b/a The L Suite) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint alleges Lloyd, The L Suite's in-house counsel chatbot, used ACC copyrighted benchmarking materials and ACC trademarks without authorization. ACC seeks an injunction and damages in the jury-demand complaint.

Filing (U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware (via CourtListener)) → · Delaware Business Court Insider (Law.com)
D.C.Court order

D.C. Court of Appeals strikes Deutsche Bank brief over AI-hallucinated citations

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals struck Deutsche Bank National Trust Company's appellate brief in Douglas v. Deutsche Bank after counsel admitted four nonexistent citations came from Google's generative AI search tool. The per curiam panel held every firm attorney who signed the brief bears some responsibility and referred the matter to the D.C. Bar's Office of Disciplinary Counsel. The panel referred the scope of its sanctions authority to the court's Rules Committee; Senior Judge Glickman concurred separately.

Order (District of Columbia Court of Appeals) → · ABA Journal, Law360, Reason (Volokh Conspiracy)