Firm Wire
Announcements by law firms about themselves, summarized in the desk's words and labelled as announcements, each with the firm named as its source. RSS
Firm Wire items are announcements made by the firms themselves. The desk confirms that the announcement was published and reproduces its factual content. It does not verify the claims in it, and publication is not an endorsement.
Dechert said the Financial Times recognized several of its projects in the 2026 Innovative Lawyers Europe awards, including a winning entry in the Innovation in Unlocking Capital category. The firm said the recognition covered its private credit CLO work and technology projects supporting client services and internal workflows.
King & Spalding said Julie Chapuy joined its Paris office as a partner in its international disputes practice. The firm said she joined from Freshfields and advised on commercial litigation involving financial services, banking, capital markets, shareholder conflicts and disputes arising after acquisitions.
Proskauer said Edouard de Rancher joined its tax department as a partner in Paris. The firm said he advised on French and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and financing, as well as reorganizations and tax disputes, with experience spanning healthcare, technology and other business sectors.
Proskauer said it advised Park Holidays UK and its management team on the completed $1.03 billion acquisition of the business by funds affiliated with Aermont Capital from Sun Communities. The firm’s announcement described the transaction as a change of ownership for the UK holiday park operator.
Womble Bond Dickinson published a briefing on environmental marketing claims and the EU consumer-law framework. The firm’s article discussed preparation by businesses selling into European markets, including the materials used to support claims and the internal processes through which marketing statements are reviewed.
Stewarts said it submitted a response to the Department for Transport and Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles consultation on safety principles. The firm said its response addressed the proposed framework for automated vehicles, with a focus on reducing risks and protecting road users.
Ward and Smith said it published an article by Gavin B. Parsons and W. Taylor Pulliam on trade-secret risks from remote workers, foreign vendors and AI tools that it says most North Carolina companies are not managing. The firm said the article recommends mobile device management and bans on personal cloud storage, vendor contracts with U.S. jurisdiction, audit rights and certified return or destruction of data, and a prohibition on entering confidential information into public AI platforms.
Ward and Smith said Chris Edwards authored an article in the North Carolina Advocates for Justice’s Trial Briefs on constitutional-question appeals. The firm’s notice described the article’s treatment of procedural requirements and its comparison of that route to a petition for discretionary review.
Gibson Dunn said it advised Tenet Healthcare on a $2 billion offering of senior notes and the redemption of outstanding debt. The firm said the new notes carried a 6.250% coupon and matured in 2034, with proceeds connected to refinancing two existing series.
Snell & Wilmer said its firm chair, Barbara J. Dawson, was elected to the board of directors of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy, established in 2009. The firm said Dawson, a former chair of the ABA Section of Litigation and of the Lex Mundi board, follows partner Matt Feeney, who served ten years on the institute’s board including five as chair.
Gibson Dunn said BTI Consulting Group again included the firm in its Fearsome Foursome for 2027. The firm’s announcement described the designation as recognition of its litigation practice and linked it to BTI’s survey of corporate legal decision-makers about firms they consider formidable opponents.
McDermott said Ele Klein discussed the SEC’s Rule 14a-8 proposal in an interview with Governance Intelligence. The firm’s notice described a discussion about shareholder proposals, the potential role of state law and corporate governing documents, and the costs associated with the proposal process.
Sidley said it published an Accelerating Energy podcast episode asking whether energy supply can keep up with the AI boom, in which Ken Irvin spoke with Houlihan Lokey’s Xander Hector and Mario Manna. The firm said the discussion covered project bankability for data-center demand, equipment backlogs, rising costs, interconnection delays and regulatory timelines, and how to distinguish sustainable demand from speculative forecasts.
Jackson Lewis said it hosted a September 24 webinar, OFCCP’s New Section 503 Final Rule: What Higher Education Institutions Need to Know, with Débora Piovezan Barbosa Avelino and Scott M. Pechaitis as speakers. The firm said the program covered the end of mandatory disability self-identification and utilization goals for federal contractor colleges and universities, remaining Section 503, ADA and Section 504 obligations, and updates to applicant tracking systems.
Thompson Coburn said it published a practical guide by partner Carlos Ortiz on language access for employers with multilingual workforces. The firm said the guide explains that Title VII and EEOC regulations treat a blanket English-only rule as presumptively unlawful, citing EEOC v. Premier Operator Services, and recommends narrow language policies, handbook updates, translated critical notices on pay, safety and benefits, manager training and plans for Form I-9 audits.
Foley & Lardner said it published an article by Jason Levine on litigation finance for corporate antitrust plaintiffs. The firm said the article describes funding as a non-recourse arrangement repaid only from a successful claim, explains that shifting fees to a funder reduces expensed litigation costs under GAAP, notes that funders typically take a multiple of their investment, a share of recovery or both, and cites a median antitrust resolution time of 1.8 years.
Thompson Coburn said partner Mark Power discussed restructuring trends for the second half of 2026 in the September issue of TMA NYC’s The Turnaround Report. The firm said Power noted that companies are increasingly using out-of-court liability management exercises rather than Chapter 11, that creditors are challenging those deals more aggressively, and that heavily leveraged companies face maturity walls, high financing costs and limited refinancing options.
Snell & Wilmer said the Los Angeles Business Journal named Dana Ontiveros to its 2026 Leaders of Influence in nonprofit and philanthropy recognition. The firm’s announcement highlighted the Los Angeles attorney’s community work alongside her corporate practice advising clients on transactions and business matters.
Foley & Lardner said it advised Southern Land Company on a planned residential community and golf development in Chatham Park in the Raleigh metropolitan area. The firm described its role as counsel to the buyer and developer on the North Carolina real estate project.
Troutman Pepper Locke said it published an InsureReinsure note by Matt Cossu and Alan Levin on Michigan Senate Bill 1013, signed September 21 and effective immediately, which adds Section 2027a to the Michigan Insurance Code to prohibit price optimization in property and casualty ratemaking. The firm said the statute bars pricing on policy-turnover likelihood, willingness to pay or price elasticity, and goes further than Texas Bulletin B-0007-26 by enacting a standalone prohibition.
Sidley said it published its September Antitrust and Competition Bulletin covering the European Commission’s new guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance, California Assembly Bill 1776 expanding the Cartwright Act, FTC Chairman Ferguson’s support for behavioural remedies in vertical mergers, the EU General Court’s ruling upholding the block on Booking’s acquisition of Etraveli, and a Commission study on merger effects. The firm said an October 6 roundtable will feature DG COMP’s Eline Vanhollebeke, moderated by Iva Todorova.
Troutman Pepper Locke said EA Weeks appeared on the Cell & Gene podcast with Erin Harris to discuss structuring cell and gene therapy transactions. The firm’s notice described a conversation about building commercial arrangements that can accommodate development, manufacturing and partnership issues over time.
Sidley said Holly J. Gregory and Kai H.E. Liekefett were included in the 2026 NACD Directorship 100. The firm said both lawyers were recognized in the Governance Professionals and Institutions category, which forms part of the National Association of Corporate Directors’ annual recognition program.
Jackson Walker said it published an analysis by Michael Nasi, Ben Rhem, Cody Vaughn and Ava Moran of two EPA actions signed September 14: a final rule repealing most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, including the 90 percent carbon capture mandate for existing coal units and CCS standards for new baseload gas turbines, and a supplemental proposal that Clean Air Act Section 111 never authorised power-plant greenhouse gas regulation. The firm said the proposal carries a 45-day comment period.
Foley & Lardner said it published an analysis by Scott D. Ellis of the Texas Attorney General’s investigation into hundreds of data-center developments in 18 counties that did not answer the Texas Water Development Board’s water use survey. The firm said the probe follows Governor Abbott’s August 3 order for an audit of the ERCOT interconnection queue, his September 14 survey-enforcement directive and a September 21 halt on TCEQ data-center permits, with compliance updates due October 14 and 19.
Sidley said Chicago Daily Law Bulletin named Jaime Simon to its 2026 40 Under Forty list. The firm’s announcement highlighted the Chicago partner’s litigation practice, including her work on product liability and life sciences disputes for pharmaceutical and other regulated businesses.
Jackson Walker said BTI Consulting Group designated it an Intimidating Opponent in its 2027 litigation research. The firm said the recognition placed it among firms identified by corporate legal decision-makers as feared litigation opponents, continuing its inclusion in BTI’s most-feared group since 2021.
Troutman Pepper Locke said it published an extended version of Gregory Len’s article on how intellectual property rights underpin the energy industry’s data-driven transformation, a condensed version of which appeared in Gasworld on September 18. The firm said the article notes there is no property right in raw operational data under U.S. law, so contracts govern it, and covers background and foreground IP in joint ventures, 5G standard-essential patent licensing and patent portfolio strategy.
Kean Miller said it published an article by Lafayette estate planning lawyers Derek Brondum and Madeleine Hughes on the role of trusts in Louisiana estate planning. The firm said the article explains that Louisiana succession is comparatively affordable, so a trust is rarely worthwhile solely to avoid it, but can suit families seeking incapacity planning without interdiction proceedings, privacy, or avoidance of ancillary probate for property in other states, provided assets are retitled into the trust.
Neal Gerber Eisenberg said partner Michael Gray, who leads its private equity, venture capital and growth companies and its fund formation and investment management practices, was quoted by InvestmentNews on how the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate rise in three years would affect registered investment adviser M&A. The firm said Gray expects higher rates to push deal prices down and buyers to lean on rollover equity, without changing the design of most transactions.