Ex-FTX lawyer aids U.S. authorities, 2023's first big law combo, former U.S. ambassador to Mayer Brown, and legal recruiter buys freelance start up
Reuters Legal
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FTX's former top lawyer Daniel Friedberg has cooperated with U.S. prosecutors as they investigate the crypto firm's collapse, a source familiar with the matter said, adding pressure on founder Sam Bankman-Fried who was arrested on criminal fraud charges last month.
Friedberg gave details about FTX in a Nov. 22 meeting with two dozen investigators, the person said. The meeting, held at the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York's office included officials from the Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the source said. Emails between attendees scheduling the meeting with those agencies were seen by Reuters.
At the meeting, he told prosecutors what he knew of Bankman-Fried's use of customer funds to finance his business empire, the source said. Friedberg recounted conversations he had with other top executives on the subject and provided details of how Bankman-Fried's hedge fund Alameda Research functioned, the source said.
Friedberg's cooperation has not been previously reported. He has not been charged and has not been told he is under criminal investigation, the source said. Instead, he expects to be called as a government witness in Bankman-Fried's October trial, the person said.
U.S.-founded global law firm Holland & Knight and Nashville-based Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis have agreed to merge, the law firms said Wednesday.
The deal, to be completed during the first quarter, will create a firm with nearly 2,000 lawyers, they said. The combined firm will operate under Holland & Knight's name.
The move gives Holland & Knight a base in Nashville, a growing legal market that has drawn in several big firms in the past two years, including K&L Gates, Spencer Fane and Womble Bond Dickinson.
Law firm combinations?increased?in 2022 after a pandemic-era slowdown, and legal industry watchers expect more to come this year. Only two combinations between firms with more than 100 lawyers took effect last year.
John Sullivan, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia during the Trump and Biden administrations, has rejoined law firm Mayer Brown to co-lead its national security practice.
Sullivan, who was also a top U.S. State Department official under then-President Donald Trump and at one point served as acting Secretary of State, is now a partner at the 1,700-lawyer Mayer Brown, the firm said Thursday.
He exited his diplomatic role in Moscow in September amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. He will be based out of the Chicago-founded firm's Washington, D.C., and New York offices, but said he plans to mainly work in D.C.
Sullivan said he anticipates working with clients seeking advice on relations with Russia and how to handle sanctions stemming from the Ukraine war. The global economic penalties have been a huge source of business for lawyers who advise on sanctions, as companies determine how and whether they can maintain Russia-related business ties, and how to end them.
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Legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa said it has acquired Hire an Esquire, a staffing startup that uses technology to match lawyers and paralegals with primarily freelance jobs.
Hanover, Maryland-based Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA) said it will integrate Hire an Esquire's online platform into its own interim staffing business line. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Philadelphia-based Hire an Esquire analyzes lawyer and legal professional candidates and assigns a "fit score" based on hard and soft skills to match them with law firms and legal departments.
The legal search giant will bring on Hire an Esquire's nine employees. The company was founded in 2011 and previously raised capital from investors including Dentons' legal tech accelerator arm. Kirsten Keegan Vasquez, MLA's vice president of law firm recruiting and interim legal talent said the business will be branded as MLA's Hire an Esquire for now.
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