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.
Miller Johnson said Michigan Lawyers Weekly named attorney Brandon Griffith a 2026 Leader in the Law. The firm said Griffith chaired its intellectual property procurement and transactions practice, and described his work advising clients on patents, commercial transactions and intellectual property issues in mergers and acquisitions.
Troutman Pepper Locke said it published a Washington Energy Report note by Adam Webster and Antonia Douglas on FERC’s September 14 order in Docket ER26-3176-000 approving changes to ISO New England’s day-ahead ancillary services market. The firm said the revisions, effective October 22, adjust the forecast energy requirement for wind and solar, floor the strike price, put a $3/MWh floor on the impact-test threshold and remove a credit for certain imports.
Bernstein Shur said it published a guide by Michael Murray and Olivia Shaw urging physicians not to wait to start J-1 waiver applications, with attention to Maine’s Conrad 30 program, whose filing season opens October 1. The firm said applicants need a job offer and signed contract, all prior DS-2019 forms, evidence of a pending medical license, notarised documents and J-2 dependent information before filing, after which the state program, the Department of State and USCIS review in sequence.
Foley & Lardner said it represented Elastic in its acquisition of Deductive AI. The firm described the acquired company’s technology as supporting AI-assisted investigations of production systems and said the transaction would add those capabilities to Elastic’s business. The announcement identified a multidisciplinary team advising on the deal.
Akin said it advised Forge, an Apollo Global Management portfolio company, on its acquisition of Becker’s Healthcare from Pamlico Capital. The firm said the transaction combined the healthcare media and events business with Forge’s existing portfolio, including Fierce Healthcare and Life Sciences.
Michael Best said it published an article by partner Daniel S. Jones on dependency risk in supplier agreements. The firm said the article argues that many supplier disputes turn on whether the customer can keep making, repairing, modifying and selling a product if the relationship ends, and recommends licenses that survive termination, rights to use alternate sources, and access to tooling, drawings, software, quality records and transition support rather than ownership of the supplier’s platform.
Stites & Harbison announced a construction-law seminar appearance by R. Daniel Douglass in Atlanta. The firm’s notice listed a program presented by The Seminar Group covering construction disputes, payment rights and related issues, with Douglass scheduled to discuss mediation and arbitration of claims.
BakerHostetler said BTI Litigation Outlook 2027 recognized the firm in all 10 litigation categories, compared with seven in the previous edition. The firm said its placements included the report’s Powerhouse designation for cybersecurity, class actions and intellectual property litigation, alongside recognition in several other practice categories.
Gibson Dunn said it advised WndrCo on an investment in HYROX alongside L Catterton. The firm said the transaction involved acquiring Infront’s majority stake together with HYROX’s founders, and identified lawyers working across corporate, competition, financing and tax aspects of the investment.
Troutman Pepper Locke said it published an episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast in which Chris Willis spoke with insurance regulatory partners Brian Casey and John Emmanuel about embedded insurance products bundled with auto financing, credit cards and other consumer transactions. The firm said the discussion covered producer licensing, commission and referral-fee rules across states, anti-rebating restrictions, Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy obligations, consumer disclosures and unfair trade practice prohibitions.
Jackson Lewis said it published the fourth episode of its We Get Contracting podcast, in which principals Scott Pechaitis and Laura Mitchell discussed the federal contractor affirmative action obligations that remain after OFCCP’s August 21 final rule. The firm said the episode covered the end of Section 503 disability data collection from September 21, the narrative plan requirements that survive, continuing VETS-4212 reporting due September 30, complaint investigations and state requirements.
Baker Donelson said Gary W. Herschman received the American Health Law Association’s Patricia T. Meador Leadership Award on September 23 at the association’s Fraud and Compliance Forum in Washington, D.C. The firm said the award recognizes an AHLA volunteer’s commitment to fraud and compliance education and mentoring, and identified Herschman as co-chair of its health care transactions team.
Cooley said it published an employment alert on the Department of Labor’s final rules for federal contractors, which the firm said rescind the regulations implementing Executive Order 11246 effective October 26, 2026 and revise the separate Section 503 disability and VEVRAA veterans’ obligations effective September 21, 2026. The firm said the disability changes drop the self-identification invitation and the 7% utilization goal.
Corrs said it advised AGP on Stonepeak’s strategic investment in Ampyr Distributed Energy, an AGP-backed business supplying onsite renewable energy to commercial and industrial customers. The firm said the investment supported the business’s expansion in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Cozen O’Connor said Caroline Simonson was named among Finance & Commerce’s 2026 Top Women in Finance. The firm identified Simonson as a member of its real estate practice in Minneapolis and said the recognition honored women’s contributions to the financial sector.
Mayer Brown said it received the Best Law Firm award at the StructuredRetailProducts Americas Awards. The firm said the recognition reflected its work with structured products, including product development, bringing new issuers to market and education about regulatory developments affecting the sector.
Morrison Foerster said it advised biotechnology company ViferaXS on a Series A financing of up to €12 million, including grant funding. The firm said SPRIND and Huma led the financing alongside private investors, supporting the company’s development of treatments for hematological cancers.
Paul Hastings said it published a client alert on the Foreign Propaganda Disclosure Act, a bipartisan bill introduced on August 27 by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna that would amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act’s definition of publicity agent to include anyone with a monetized social media account. The firm said the bill creates no separate influencer registration regime and leaves existing foreign-principal and covered-activity requirements in place.
Proskauer said it advised Bridgepoint Development Capital on the sale of Sotralu Group to Andera Partners in a leveraged buyout alongside management. The firm described Sotralu as a supplier of components for aluminum doors and windows with manufacturing operations in three European countries.
Skadden said it published an article on how FDA regulatory reform, the maturing biosimilar patent framework and coming patent expirations are reshaping biosimilars M&A. The firm said FDA draft guidance since October 2025 lets sponsors replace comparative efficacy studies with analytical and pharmacokinetic data, that 118 biologics are expected to lose protection between 2025 and 2034, and that licensing remains the most common deal structure alongside acquisitions.
Womble Bond Dickinson said it published commentary marking National Manufacturing Day on September 24, with contributions from manufacturing sector head Peter Snaith, commercial partner Sarah Daun and aerospace and defense partner Stephen Anderson. The firm said the piece addressed domestic supply chain resilience, national security, workforce skills, digital technology, sustainability and manufacturing careers in the United Kingdom.
Womble Bond Dickinson said the Science Based Targets initiative approved its UK business’s near-term emissions reduction and net-zero targets. The firm said the approval followed work to measure its carbon footprint and develop a plan for reducing emissions across its operations and wider value chain.
Ward and Smith said attorney Lily Faulconer was selected for the 2027 Leadership Pitt County class, a program of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce. The firm said the program brought together participants to study community institutions and build connections across the county.
Ward and Smith said Mike McIntyre was reappointed to the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Central Selection Committee. The firm said he would participate in the program’s sophomore selection process at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, continuing his involvement in scholarship selection.
Davis Polk said counsel Costanza Garcia Laposse was named to The Tech Capital’s Women 100 for 2026. The firm said the recognition concerned her work in digital infrastructure finance, highlighting transactions involving data centers and financing arrangements for operators in that sector.
Thompson Coburn said it published an article by Mariquita Barbieri and Nicholas Engel on personal goodwill as a tax-saving opportunity in C corporation asset sales. The firm said a shareholder’s sale of personal goodwill, distinct from corporate goodwill, can be taxed once rather than at both corporate and shareholder level, citing Martin Ice Cream Co. v. Commissioner, and said allocations need a qualified valuation, separate agreements and consistent reporting by both parties.
Foley & Lardner said Beth Boland was named the InspireHer Lifetime Achievement Honoree in the Boston Business Journal’s 2026 Icon Awards: Women Who Mean Business. The firm said the program recognized women whose leadership and professional contributions shaped the Greater Boston business community.
Troutman Pepper Locke said it would host the Insurance Forum Foundation’s 2026 Insurance Forum in Chicago. In an invitation published on its InsureReinsure blog, the firm said the program would address developments affecting insurance companies and consumers across several areas of the industry.
Gibson Dunn said it received two awards at the ITR Europe Tax Awards 2026: partner James Chandler was named Transfer Pricing Lawyer Rising Star, and the firm’s work on the Nova Chemicals divestment to Borouge Group was named Impact Deal of the Year. The firm said the awards recognize distinguished tax and transfer pricing teams in Europe over the preceding 12 months.
Appleby said it acted as Cayman Islands counsel to Aperture AC on a definitive business combination with Atlantic HPC Group, a US bitcoin mining and computing business. The firm said the combined company was expected to be renamed Atlantic HPC Corp. and listed on Nasdaq under the symbol AHPC.