Monaco to O’Melveny, Law School Teetering, Deloitte Prowling: The Morning Minute

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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

 

BIG NAME - Lisa Monaco, whose career has spanned the DOJ, the FBI and the Obama White House, is joining O’Melveny & Myers as partner and co-chair of its data security and privacy group, Ryan Lovelace reports. Monaco, who served as Obama’s Homeland Security Advisor, has been a senior national security analyst for CNN.

CLINGING TO LIFE - Another law school is teetering on the edge of failure. Karen Sloan reports that ABA-accredited Western State College of Law in Orange County, California, was poised to shut down mid-semester, in what would’ve been the first such closure in history, but a federal judge has ordered enough funding to allow it to remain open until the end of the term. The school, which has about 300 students, entered into a court-appointed receivership in January. Its demise would become the sixth ABA-accredited law school to shutter or announce plans to close since 2016.

BY GEORGE - What does the most profitable law firm in the world think of its high-profile partner who’s in a Twitter war with the President of the United States? Wachtell remains publicly mum about any concerns it may have with George Conway, the outspoken husband of President Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway. But as Dan Packel reports, others are weighing in with plenty of opinions on how the firm should navigate the prickly situation. Trump on Wednesday tweeted Conway was a stone cold LOSER" and a "husband from hell!"

EDITOR’S PICKS

 

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WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

 

EXPANDING - Deloitte is on the hunt for lawyers to bolster its affiliated Hong Kong law firm, John Kang reports. The accounting giant has made offers to two partners at China’s Zhong Lun to join the operation launched in January by Deloitte China's general counsel James Jamison. As many as 10 lawyers from the Chinese firm have been approached by the firm.

WHAT YOU SAID

“The idea of ‘move fast and break things’ doesn’t work as well when you’re in a highly regulated industry.”

— REBECCA SIMMONS, PARTNER AT SULLIVAN & CROMWELL, ON THE CARE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES SHOULD TAKE WHEN VENTURING INTO FINANCIAL SERVICES.