DC Pulse


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    BigLaw Grew More Selective On Second Quarter Lateral Hires

    Lateral hiring at large U.S. law firms slowed in the second quarter of 2026 after a strong start to the year, with associate and counsel moves declining while partner hiring remained relatively steady, according to figures from legal data company Firm Prospects LLC.

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    Steptoe Adds Crowell & Moring Defense Pro As Cyber Lead

    Steptoe LLP announced Monday that it has hired a former government contracts and cybersecurity partner from Crowell & Moring LLP who has held senior procurement roles at the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security to lead the firm's cybersecurity practice.

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    Paul Hastings Kicks Off New Sports Practice With Ravens GC

    Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday that it has formally launched a global sports practice with two new partners, including the Baltimore Ravens' top in-house lawyer.

  • HHS' Ex-GC Committed Ethics Violations, Watchdog Says

    A watchdog organization filed a complaint Thursday with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General seeking an investigation into former HHS general counsel Michael Stuart over alleged federal ethics violations, saying it appears he failed to divest from prohibited financial holdings and made prohibited investment purchases after taking office.

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    Over 2,600 Attys, Professionals Urge Blocking Blanche As AG

    More than 2,600 lawyers and legal professionals on Friday urged lawmakers to oppose the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general, saying Blanche's dismissal of the idea that the U.S. Department of Justice should be independent from the White House and his record as interim attorney general make him unfit for the role.

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    Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

    Greene Broillet & Wheeler LLP and Ludd & Ludd lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a San Diego jury ordered Hyatt to pay $15.5 million over the death of a guest who was left uncontacted for a day after failing to check out.

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    Reed Smith Creates AI-Focused Legal Services Team

    Reed Smith LLP has created a department to bring lawyers, e-discovery and AI professionals and others to support clients and the firm with legal, business and technology-focused guidance, and tapped a partner in Philadelphia to spearhead the effort.

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    Six-Person Public Affairs Team Joins Taft From Ice Miller

    Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP has announced that the firm expanded its public affairs strategies group with the hire of six former Ice Miller LLP attorneys and legal professionals including two partners and a pair of vice presidents.

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    Meet The Solo Employment Atty Who Is New DC Bar President

    Diane Seltzer won last year's race to lead the District of Columbia Bar in an election with unprecedented member participation. Now that she's starting her term as president of the organization, Seltzer wants to motivate attorneys to stay involved.

  • Beltway Moves: Squire Patton, Bracewell, Wiley

    Washington, D.C., law firms have been adding attorneys with expertise in congressional investigations, in some of the latest hiring moves in the nation's capital.

  • Voir Dire: Law360 Pulse's Weekly Quiz

    The legal industry had another busy week as BigLaw firms expanded headcounts and practices. Test your legal news savvy here with Law360 Pulse’s weekly quiz.

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    95% Of Surveyed Law Firms Losing Clients, Report Finds

    Hundreds of law firms say they are increasingly losing clients and cite problems delivering their legal services as the top reason for the attrition, according to a report released Thursday.

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    Grassley Claims Smith's Team Mishandled Classified Docs

    Individuals working in then-special counsel Jack Smith's office may have mishandled classified information while investigating President Donald Trump, according to messages obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee, committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley has told the U.S. Department of Justice.

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    Inside Hogan Lovells Cadwalader's Big DC Debut

    Judging by the number of people at its launch party in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of this month, it was easy to see how the merger of Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP had turned the new Hogan Lovells Cadwalader into the city's second-largest law firm.

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    Iridium Offers CLO $873K To Stay Through Rocket Lab Deal

    Global satellite operator Iridium Communications Inc. is offering its top lawyer $873,036 if she doesn't bail out of her job before the company closes its merger with Rocket Lab Corp. next year, according to a securities filing this week.

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    5 Clifford Chance Finance And Tax Attys Join Sidley In NY, DC

    Sidley Austin LLP announced Thursday that five Clifford Chance LLP attorneys have joined the firm's global finance and tax practices in New York and Washington, D.C.

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    Squire Patton Adds Atty From House Epstein, Trump Probes

    A key player in government investigations into Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump has joined Squire Patton Boggs LLP to lead the firm's congressional investigations group, the firm announced Thursday.

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    DLA Piper Adds Kirkland Project Finance Partner In DC

    DLA Piper has announced it hired a Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner who primarily works on U.S. and Latin American project finance matters with clients focused on natural resources financing.

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    Niche AI Legal Tools Gain Ground At Law Firms

    While general legal artificial intelligence assistants like Harvey and Legora dominate headlines, law firms are increasingly betting on practice-specific AI platforms designed for particular legal tasks.

  • ABA Seeks Trump Docs In Suit Alleging Law Firm Intimidation

    The Trump administration cannot rely on the presidential communications privilege to block disclosure of communications related to allegations that the president sought to intimidate BigLaw firms into conforming with his policy initiatives, the American Bar Association told a D.C. federal judge.

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    Painful Reality — When In-House Counsel Blow The Whistle

    It is exceedingly rare when in-house counsel snitch on their own company. But when they do, in-house whistleblowers often suffer severe consequences.

  • Trump's SDNY Pick Steps In As Clayton Focuses On DC

    U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's pick to succeed him, James McDonald, will assume a leadership role as Clayton works on his own nomination for director of national intelligence in Washington.

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    Another OFAC Official Joins Akin's DC Practice

    Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has added another international trade partner from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control in Washington, D.C., who began his legal career with the firm more than a decade ago, the firm announced Tuesday.

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    Desire To Be 'Bold,' 'Edgy' Fueled Winston Taylor's New Look

    After announcing their intent to merge last December, leaders from Winston & Strawn LLP and the U.K. arm of Taylor Wessing LLP embarked on a "listening road show" to help guide the visual identity of the new firm. They saw an opening to stand out from other major law firms.

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    Greenberg Traurig Hires Former Commerce Dept. Deputy

    Greenberg Traurig LLP has hired a former deputy undersecretary in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, who joined the firm as a senior director to work with several of its practices, the firm has announced.

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Expert Analysis

  • What GCs Value Most: 7 Tips For Landing The Client Pitch Author Photo

    In today’s competitive legal market, successful attorneys treat the pitch process with general counsel like the beginning of a relationship, not a one-off sale — showing up with curiosity, commercial awareness and the ability to engage in a meaningful way from the start, says Andrew Dick at The L Suite.

  • Making Legal Cents: Strategy That Stays In Motion Author Photo

    Instead of lurching between year-end strategic planning season and springtime panic mode, firms need a framework that helps them identify what clients and the market need throughout the year, and then actually adjust course, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • Roundup

    Legal Tech Talks Author Photo

    Company founders, attorneys and other professionals working in the legal tech space share their journeys into the industry, challenges they face when working with law firms and legal departments, and common misconceptions about technology.

  • 4 Tips For Attys To Turn An Interim Job Into A Long-Term Role Author Photo

    As some attorneys seek interim roles amid economic uncertainty, big-picture thinking and a few proactive steps can help to turn those short-term assignments into long-term positions, says Amy Vanderhoof at Major Lindsey.

  • The Augmented Lawyer: AI Exercises For Junior Attorneys Author Photo

    As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly adept at handling entry-level legal tasks, firms and organizations must consider new ways to train and mentor junior attorneys to prepare them for leadership in an AI-integrated profession, say attorneys at KXT Law.

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    Biz Development Tip Of The Month: Embrace LinkedIn Author Photo

    Attorneys who recognize LinkedIn as a powerful professional platform can gain significant competitive advantages in business development via strategic content creation, meaningful industry discussions and consistent visibility within target markets, says Agatha Mouillet at Horvitz & Levy.

  • Guidance For Attorneys As Tariffs Reshape Legal Hiring Author Photo

    As law firms and in-house legal departments grapple with the uncertainty of evolving tariff policies, attorneys at all career stages should consider how to lean into these shifts to best position themselves for long-term opportunities, says Rena Barnett-Matthews at Attorney Career Coach.

  • How Firms Can Plan For Succession Of Admin Professionals Author Photo

    Many law firms are familiar with the need for attorney succession plans, but it’s also essential to plan for the succession of administrative professionals — from human resources personnel to finance leaders — to ensure continuity of critical day-to-day operations, say Eryn Carter and Travis Armstrong at the Association of Legal Administrators.

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    Expanding The Reach Of A Legal Nonprofit Author Photo

    I co-founded the Legal Mentor Network with the goal of providing free legal mentoring to law students and early career attorneys, and the experience has highlighted how nonprofits can grow with the help of strong sponsorships and volunteers who all operate from a positive place, says Chrystal Mauro at the Legal Mentor Network.

  • How 1Ls Can Plan For Sped-Up Summer Associate Hiring Author Photo

    The ever-earlier recruiting of summer associates sets high stakes before new law students may even realize, but 1Ls can better land a good 2L summer fit if they hit their first semester focused on the hiring timeline and ready to ask important questions about their would-be firms, says Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • How GCs Can Help Build A Geopolitical Command Center Author Photo

    In the face of sustained regulatory and economic uncertainty, general counsel can help businesses move from reactive to proactive management by building a clear, cross-functional geopolitical command center that monitors and coordinates responses to a wide spectrum of issues, says Lars Faeste at FTI Consulting.

  • For Some Lawyers, Building A New Practice Makes Perfect Author Photo

    Leaving an established law firm to start a boutique business of your own requires not only vision and resilience but also a solid business plan to help mitigate risks and increase your chances of unparalleled personal and professional success, says Rebecca Palmer at the Rebecca L. Palmer Law Group.

  • Beyond Billable Hours: The Unseen Labor Of Women In Law Author Photo

    The legal profession has a critical role to play in reducing attrition of women lawyers by addressing the disproportionate burden of the mental load — the often-unseen work of managing tasks and anticipating needs in both personal and professional realms, says Michelle Browning-Coughlin at Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law.

  • 10 Key Strategies For Successful Lateral Partner Integration Author Photo

    To help ensure new partners and practice groups are successfully integrated, firms should embrace specific structured practices that recognize each lateral's distinct value, personalize their integration plans and proactively address transition complexities long after onboarding ends, say Elizabeth Kennedy at NewEdge BD and Erika Steinberg at CMO2Go.

  • How Firms Can Manage DEI Commitments Amid Headwinds Author Photo

    By recalibrating how they structure and communicate their inclusion efforts, law firms can reduce legal exposure and preserve their values, says Angela Vallot at VallotKarp Consulting.

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