Good afternoon,
Welcome back. Here’s to hoping your Fourth of July weekends were filled with plenty of fireworks, hot dogs, bonfires and not too many storms. Milbank fired the opening shot in the 2026 salary race, raising starting associate pay to $235,000, but Cravath and the rest of BigLaw have stayed quiet. On the operations front, several firms including Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher, Kirkland, Milbank, and Cravath are leaving chief diversity officer roles unfilled as the Trump administration continues to deter DEI initiatives.
On the client side, mega-deals pushed global M&A to a record $2.8 trillion in H1 2026, activist campaigns are rebounding with a sharper M&A focus, Blackstone-owned Jersey Mike’s filed for an IPO targeting up to $12 billion, power infrastructure companies are raising billions as the AI data center buildout accelerates, and Mexico calls US and local asset managers to participate in energy and highway infrastructure buildout.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
Today’s Talking Points
-Milbank’s $235K Salary Move Awaits Cravath’s Response / DEI Chiefs Depart Across Elite Firms
-Paul Hastings Lands Cahill’s Private Credit Co-Leader
-Record $2.8T in H1 M&A as Boards Chase Mega-Deals / Activist Campaigns Rebound Sharply
-Jersey Mike’s Files for IPO / AI Power Rush Drives $11.6B in New Listings
-Apple Privacy Flaw Opens Class Action Risk / 7-Eleven Sues Nike Over Design
-Iran War Pushes Rate Path Higher Through 2028 / Gold Nears $4,200 / European Stocks at Records
Talent Strategy
Latest Moves
Paul Hastings hired Peter Williams, the former co-head of Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s private credit practice, as a partner. Williams also previously served as a managing director at KKR.
What today's moves tell us: Private credit continues to draw lateral attention as sponsors look for alternative lending expertise to navigate tighter exit conditions and deployment pressure.
Operations and Strategy
The salary standoff and a quiet exodus of DEI leadership show the pressure points that BigLaw leadership is navigating as firms push ahead implementing and tweaking their strategy.
Milbank raised starting associate pay to $235,000 several weeks ago. Norton Rose Fulbright has matched Milbank’s salary scale, but Cravath which typically matches within days or weeks has not responded. Whether this becomes a market-wide reset or a standalone move will become clearer in the coming weeks. Across the Atlantic, Macfarlanes raised newly qualified lawyer pay to £150,000 (about $200,000) plus bonuses, joining London’s escalating pay competition.
Several of the largest firms including Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher, Kirkland, Milbank, and Cravath are leaving chief diversity officer posts unfilled as the Trump administration continues to deter DEI initiatives. Several firms have shifted these roles to director or manager level.
Practices
Corporate M&A and Private Equity
Dealmakers are watching the H1 numbers closely: $2.8 trillion in global M&A on fewer but larger deals signals that boards and sponsors with conviction are moving on long-considered transformational transactions. The rebound in activist campaigns, with a growing share pushing for sales and other M&A, adds urgency for companies to get their governance and defense strategies in order. For corporate clients and their advisors, the combination of mega-deal volume and rising activist pressure points to a busy second half across sell-side mandates, and shareholder defense.
Selected Press:
Mega-deals push global M&A to a record $2.8 trillion in H1 2026 as deal count falls to a six-year low—boards are pursuing “dream” transactions and corporate breakups backed by easier regulation and abundant financing.
Activist campaigns rebound sharply in H1 with a growing share of demands focused on M&A. Elliott, Starboard, and Oasis among the most active; U.S. tech and industrials are primary targets.
Top investors oppose £5.7bn PE bid for DCC from KKR and Bridgepoint’s Energy Capital Partners, arguing the raised price still undervalues the company.
Blackstone-owned Jersey Mike’s files for IPO targeting $10bn–$12bn valuation; Blackstone already extracted ~$500mn in dividends via franchise fee securitisation.
Asia M&A tops $750 billion despite continued volatility in the region.
Capital Markets and Infrastructure
The capital markets window is wide open for companies tied to AI infrastructure. At least ten power and clean tech IPOs in 2026 show that investors and hyperscalers are backing the buildout despite execution risk. In LatAm, Mexico’s outreach to global asset managers for energy and highway projects signals a shift toward a more investable regulatory framework, which should attract cross-border project finance and infrastructure advisory mandates.
Selected Press:
AI-driven IPO rush raises $11.6 billion as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft fuel demand for geothermal, nuclear, and data center infrastructure providers.
Mexico courts BlackRock, KKR and local pension funds for private participation in energy and highway infrastructure after legal changes cut red tape.
Litigation and Data Privacy
A privacy flaw in Apple’s Hide My Email feature and 7-Eleven’s IP suit against Nike illustrate how consumer-facing brands remain exposed to class action and IP enforcement risk. General counsel and outside litigation teams are watching the Apple flaw closely, depending on the scope of exposed addresses and user damages, a consumer class action could follow.
Selected Press:
Apple’s Hide My Email privacy flaw exposed real email addresses despite two patches—researchers say aliases can still be unmasked, raising class action risk.
7-Eleven sues Nike over its orange/green/red stripe design on Air Max 95 sneakers set for release on “7-Eleven Day.”
Singapore files new charges in Nvidia chip fraud case—suspects falsely claimed end-user status for Dell and Supermicro servers while diverting chips to China.
Where the Work Sits
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The record $2.8 trillion in H1 M&A volume, driven by mega-deals and corporate breakups, is generating high-end M&A mandates, financing negotiations work for firms with strong M&A and capital markets practices. The rebound in activist campaigns—with Elliott, Starboard, and others increasingly pushing for sales and strategic reviews—is activating corporate governance, shareholder defense, and proxy advisory work alongside M&A.
The AI infrastructure buildout is producing two distinct work streams: capital markets and securities mandates from the IPO pipeline ($11.6 billion raised across power and clean tech listings), and cross-border project finance and regulatory work as countries like Mexico overhaul investment frameworks to attract global asset managers. Blackstone’s Jersey Mike’s IPO adds to the sponsor exit pipeline and will involve capital markets, tax, and franchise regulatory counsel.
On the litigation side, Apple’s Hide My Email flaw is a near-term class action risk for data privacy and consumer protection practices, while the 7-Eleven v. Nike suit and ongoing Nvidia chip smuggling prosecution signal active IP enforcement and trade compliance dockets. The DCC takeover opposition from major shareholders points to contested public M&A work in the UK, where PE-led bids continue to face resistance from institutional investors concerned about undervaluation and London Stock Exchange exits.
Global Markets
The Iran war’s lasting impact is becoming clearer: Bloomberg Economics now projects central bank rate trajectories running up to half a percentage point higher through 2028 than pre-war forecasts. Clients are watching the divergence between European equities (hitting fresh records) and U.S. fund outflows (largest since March) as a signal of where capital, risk, and opportunities are rotating. Executives weighing deal timing should note that gold at $4,183 and OPEC+ adding another 188,000 barrels per day point to persistent macro uncertainty—even as Eurozone PMI data shows early signs of stabilization.
Selected Press:
Interest rate path veers higher—Bloomberg Economics forecasts show Iran war shifted central bank rates up to 50bp higher through 2028.
Gold at $4,183/oz, up 4.4% over three sessions; JPMorgan forecasts $4,500 in Q4.
European stocks hit fresh records (DAX second straight all-time high) while U.S. stock funds saw $17.2 billion in outflows.
OPEC+ approves 188,000 bpd output hike from August; Citi forecasts Brent could fall to $60 by Christmas.
Eurozone PMI stabilizes at 50.0, ending two months of contraction, while UK services fell to 48.8—weakest since January 2023.
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.
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