Good afternoon,
Latham & Watkins added partners on two fronts: capital markets duo Byron Rooney and Dan Gibbons from Davis Polk, and energy deals lawyer Jason Bennett from Baker Botts in Houston. Linklaters hired a FIFA disputes duo from Paul Weiss to anchor a new global sports practice chair in New York.
On the client side, Apple has filed a trade secret theft lawsuit against OpenAI, naming former hardware executives Tang Tan and Chang Liu. State AGs are suing to block Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Warburg Pincus is acquiring a controlling stake in PANTHERx Rare for ~$7 billion. Iran's ceasefire collapsed, oil hit one-month highs, and the Fed's July decision is a coin toss with inflation at 3.5%.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
Today’s Talking Points
-Latham hires Davis Polk capital markets pair (Rooney, Gibbons) and Baker Botts energy partner Bennett; Linklaters adds Paul Weiss FIFA duo
-CMS ties AI bonus to staff adoption (up to £5,000); AI-native firms grow as structural concern for traditional BigLaw
-Apple sues OpenAI for trade secret theft of hardware designs; seeks injunction and damages or royalties
-Paramount's $81B move on Warner Bros. triggers antitrust review; Akzo/Nippon and Seahawks round out M&A picture
-Warburg Pincus acquires PANTHERx Rare (~$7B); EQT mandate map shows which firms win top PE instructions in Europe
-Wall Street IB fees on track for record year; Clark fight draws ex-Biden DOJ lawyers
-Iran ceasefire collapses, Hormuz back in focus, oil at one-month highs; inflation 3.5%; Fed July decision a coin toss
Talent Strategy
Latest Moves
Latham & Watkins recruited capital markets and fintech partners Byron Rooney and Dan Gibbons from Davis Polk. Rooney and Gibbons co-led SpaceX's IPO advisory work. The hire strengthens Latham's capital markets bench ahead of what is shaping up to be an active H2 2026.
Latham is also poised to hire energy deals partner Jason Bennett from Baker Botts in Houston, deepening its energy transactions bench as energy M&A and infrastructure finance mandates continue through 2026.
Linklaters hired a two-partner FIFA disputes team from Paul Weiss for its New York office, establishing a new global sports practice chair as part of its continued US buildout.
What today's moves tell us: Latham added partners across capital markets, fintech, and energy in a single 24-hour window, showing the market its ability to move fast to execute its strategy. Sports law continues to formalize as a standalone practice at magic circle and elite US firms.
Operations and Strategy
As Big Law invests in AI adoption at the staff level, firms are managing incoming competitive pressure from firms built on AI-enabled delivery from the ground up.
A Bloomberg Law report finds that AI-native law firms, those built from scratch on AI-enabled delivery models, are growing fast enough to register as a competitive concern at traditional firms. The management question is what happens to fee assumptions when AI narrows the productivity gap over the next several years.
CMS introduced a bonus scheme of up to £5,000 for lawyers and business services staff who adopt AI tools, making it one of the first firms to tie direct financial incentives to AI usage at scale. Staff also have opportunities to develop AI tools directly.
Practices
Intellectual Property and Trade Secret Litigation
Apple has filed a trade secret theft lawsuit in California against OpenAI, naming former Apple hardware executives Tang Tan (former Apple VP of product design, who led development of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods) and Chang Liu. The lawsuit marks a sharp reversal for two companies that had been close partners with tensions accelerating as OpenAI developed its own hardware business.
For BigLaw, this is a high-value IP litigation mandate with trade secret, employment, and potentially inching towards antitrust dimensions. Apple's request for broad injunctive relief, combined with the employment component of the Tang Tan and Liu departures, makes this a complex multi-front engagement with significant discovery ahead.
Selected Press:
Apple sues OpenAI, Tang Tan, and Chang Liu for trade secret theft in California; seeks injunction, damages, or royalties on products derived from Apple designs.
M&A and Antitrust
Paramount is pursuing an $81 billion combination with Warner Bros.The DOJ's track record on media and content consolidation combined with the current administration's unpredictable posture on large deals involving major content owners makes the regulatory pathway the central execution variable.
For antitrust practices at elite firms, this is a significant advisory mandate as both sides of a deal this size will need sophisticated regulatory counsel for the merger review process and potential divestitures. Dealmakers are watching whether this signals a reopening of large-cap media M&A or is an outlier driven by the specific strategic pressures on both companies.
Selected Press:
Paramount pursues takeover of Warner Bros. — deal faces antitrust review given scale of combined media assets.
Akzo Nobel rejects another approach from Nippon — continuing cross-border M&A contest generating antitrust, deal defense, and advisory work.
Seattle Seahawks sale process underway — sports franchise M&A generating governance, shareholder, and advisory mandates.
Private Equity and Healthcare
Warburg Pincus is leading a group to acquire a controlling stake in PANTHERx Rare, a Pittsburgh-based rare disease specialty pharmacy, for approximately $7 billion from General Atlantic, The Vistria Group, and others. Specialty pharmacy platforms in the rare disease space sit at the intersection of healthcare regulatory compliance, reimbursement structures, and PE portfolio management — the kind of asset that generates complex healthcare regulatory, M&A advisory, and employment advisory mandates.
For firms with healthcare PE practices, sponsor interest in the rare disease pharmacy space reflects a broader thesis around durable reimbursement and specialty distribution as a value driver in healthcare services M&A.
Selected Press:
Warburg Pincus-led group to acquire PANTHERx Rare for ~$7B from General Atlantic and Vistria; Nautic Partners remains a shareholder,.
Capital Markets, White Collar, and Regulatory
Wall Street banks are on course for their biggest IB fee year in years with Q2 earnings beating expectations broadly — a clear demand signal for Big Law’s capital markets practices and deal pipeline activity through H2 2026.
Selected Press:
Wall Street banks on track for biggest IB fee haul in years; Q2 earnings beat broadly.
Where the Work Sits
***
The Apple/OpenAI trade secret suit is a landmark IP litigation mandate. The combination of injunctive relief, employment law dimensions (the Tang Tan and Liu departures), and the hardware product-development angle makes this a multi-practice engagement that will sit at the intersection of IP litigation, trade secrets, and technology law. Elite IP and trade secret litigation teams will be tracking this closely, and general counsel at companies competing for AI hardware talent are watching the disclosure dynamic carefully.
Paramount's Warner Bros. deal is the most significant antitrust mandate to surface this week. Media consolidation at this scale triggers the full regulatory review process — antitrust filings in multiple jurisdictions, potential divestitures, and extended DOJ/FTC scrutiny. The deal also creates ancillary advisory work on debt financing, shareholder approvals, and the governance of the combined entity. Firms with strong antitrust and M&A advisory practices will be positioning for both sides of this process.
The Warburg Pincus/PANTHERx deal signals continued sponsor appetite for healthcare services assets with durable reimbursement profiles. Rare disease specialty pharmacy sits in a high-complexity regulatory environment — FDA compliance, specialty distribution, and payer relationships all require expert advisory. For healthcare PE practices, this deal type drives a concentrated set of regulatory, M&A, and employment mandates.
Global Markets
Iran's weekend ceasefire collapsed and fresh US strikes resumed, returning the Strait of Hormuz to front-page risk. Clients are running two scenarios: Hormuz stays open with oil in the mid-to-high $70s, or the escalation intensifies toward $80–$85, feeding into financing assumptions and supply chain planning across energy, industrial, and logistics sectors. The Fed's July decision adds a second variable: with inflation at 3.5% and bank earnings beating, the outcome is genuinely uncertain, and dealmakers are watching for the signal on refinancing windows and acquisition financing conditions through Q3.
Selected Press:
Iran ceasefire collapses, US strikes resume; Hormuz flashpoint returns; oil hits one-month highs.
US inflation cools to 3.5% while major bank Q2 earnings beat; Fed July rate decision described as a coin toss.
Hong Kong adopts its first five-year plan, aligning more closely with mainland China's economic framework.
Stories to Watch
Paramount/Warner Bros. antitrust review — DOJ and FTC responses to the deal will set the tone for large-cap media M&A. Watch for whether divestiture conditions are imposed early.
Fed July rate decision — Inflation at 3.5% gives cover to hold, but strong economic data makes the outcome uncertain. Will set refinancing windows and deal pacing through Q3 2026.
Hormuz Strait and Iran — Fresh strikes resumed after ceasefire collapse; energy deal financing and supply chain planning are watching whether escalation stays contained or pushes oil materially higher.
Q2 earnings season — Big bank beats confirm the IB fee recovery. Watch corporate earnings over the next two weeks to see if H2 2026 deal projections hold.
That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.
-The BigLaw Markets Team
*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver newsletters that highlight the drivers of demand for legal services.
Thanks for reading!
We’d like your feedback. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected].
