Kirkland hires top-notch trial lawyer from Gibson Dunn. Today was Andrew LeGrand's first day with Kirkland & Ellis from Gibson Dunn, where he practiced for 14 years. It all started with a Zoom call on LeGrand's daughter's birthday on July 9. LeGrand met with Kirkland & Ellis partner Andrew Kassof and felt his vision and love for the firm were infectious. But meeting with Kirkland chairman Jon A. Ballis sealed the deal. Alexa covers litigation and trials for The Texas Lawbook. (C) 2026 The Texas Lawbook. Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with its subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.

HB Ad Slot HB Mobile Ad Slot SEC launches new accounting fraud specialty unit. Friday, August 7, 2026 On August 5, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) announced the establishment of a new specialized unit within the Division of Enforcement - the Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit (the Unit) - dedicated to pursuing fraud and misconduct in accounting, financial reporting, and auditing. The new Unit signals a renewed institutional commitment to accounting-related enforcement at the Commission. The Unit will be led by Timothy Zimmerman, who joined the SEC's Division of Enforcement in May 2026 as a senior advisor to Enforcement Director David Woodcock. Prior to joining the agency, Zimmerman served as Deputy General Counsel of accounting firm RSM US following twelve years in practice at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP. The Unit will be staffed by both attorneys and accountants with specialized expertise in financial reporting, accounting, and auditing in the context of securities regulation, and will work collaboratively with staff across all SEC divisions. Director Woodcock framed the Unit as part of a broader realignment, stating that it will expand upon Enforcement Division's existing efforts to focus on bad actors within the accounting and auditing profession. The new Unit appears to supersede the SOX Group the Division announced during SEC Speaks last March before Director Woodcock assumed his current role. Notably, there has long been a view among practitioners that a dedicated accounting and financial reporting unit should have existed since the Commission created the specialized enforcement units in 2010. Thus, the creation of a standalone unit with dedicated attorney and accountant staffing is not a complete surprise, especially given Director Woodcock's former role as leader of the Financial Reporting & Audit Task Force that was formed in 2013 when he was Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office. Notwithstanding, its creation suggests the Commission views financial reporting fraud as warranting the same focused attention that has been applied to areas such as offering fraud, insider trading, and market abuse. Finally, it is consistent with Chairman Atkin's view that accounting and financial fraud fall squarely within his "back to basics" approach. Companies and their advisors should take note. The establishment of this Unit signals that accounting and financial reporting enforcement will be a priority area for the Division going forward. Public companies, private funds and their auditors will be well-served to ensure robust financial reporting reviews, evaluate internal controls over financial reporting, and respond thoroughly and promptly to complaints alleging potential accounting fraud. We expect the Unit to be active and to bring cases in areas including revenue recognition, reserves and estimates, valuation of illiquid assets, disclosure controls, compliance with auditing standards, and auditor independence, and we will continue to monitor developments in this space. HB Mobile Ad Slot HTML Embed Code Current public notices. Published: 4 August, 2026 Published: 3 August, 2026 Published: 31 July, 2026 Published: 27 July, 2026 Published: 26 July, 2026 Published: 22 July, 2026 Published: 20 July, 2026 Published: 15 July, 2026 Published: 1 July, 2026 Published: 16 June, 2026 HB Ad Slot HB Mobile Ad Slot

Gibson Dunn recruits Wachtell co-chair Savitt along with five other disputes partners. Renowned litigator William Savitt takes team to Gibson Dunn in move firm hails as 'rare and powerful' 29 July 2026 Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has hired Wachtell Lipton co-leader William Savitt, a renowned corporate trial lawyer known for taking on Elon Musk, alongside a team of litigators, in the latest instance of high-profile exits from the storied Wall Street firm. Savitt has joined Gibson Dunn in New York alongside partners Sarah Eddy, Randall Jackson, Ryan McLeod, Anitha Reddy and Bradley Wilson. Savitt, who co-chaired Wachtell's executive committee and litigation department, will now co-chair Gibson Dunn's litigation practice group. "This is a rare and powerful combination," said Barbara Becker, chair and managing partner of Gibson Dunn. "It brings together the nation's foremost corporate governance, M&A and high-stakes trial litigation team with the deepest trial, appellate and regulatory platform in the legal profession. There is no other pairing in the market that offers clients more talent, deeper experience or a better track record." Advertisement The departures are a blow for Wachtell, which has seen more than half a dozen senior defections to rivals since the beginning of last year, including the firm's restructuring and finance head, Joshua Feltman, leaving for Kirkland & Ellis in April. Latham & Watkins has also lured away several partners, including top dealmaker Zach Podolsky last year. Wachtell is one of the few Big Law firms to remain wedded to a traditional seniority-based lockstep compensation system and used to be considered virtually immune to poaching from rivals thanks to its very high profitability and elite reputation. That status has come under pressure recently, however, as firms with more flexible pay structures have picked off top talent. Savitt's 26 years at Wachtell included two major wins over Musk. In 2022, he helped Twitter compel Musk to complete his $44bn acquisition of the social media platform, and in May this year he convinced a jury in California to reject Musk's suit against OpenAI challenging the company's shift to a for-profit business. LAW OVER BORDERS COMPARATIVE GUIDES Mediation Law Guide This first edition of the Law Over Borders Comparative Guide to Mediation considers the development of mediation and its role in the international disputes market, with contributions and insights from leading private practice dispute resolution lawyers and General Counsel... | 1yr. He is also known as an expert in the corporate law of Delaware, having argued dozens of appeals in the Delaware Supreme Court and the federal circuits. Musk is a high-profile client of Gibson Dunn, which guided SpaceX on its listing in June, the biggest IPO on record. The firm has become a major force in corporate deals work, having long been known for its strength in litigation. In April, it added a four-partner group of prominent appellate lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell in Washington led by former acting solicitor general Jeffrey Wall, having hired former Trump impeachment lawyer Barry Berke and his team from legacy Kramer Levin in 2024. Wachtell did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson told the Financial Times the firm was "performing at its highest level across every metric", adding it was "having a record year, continues at the top of all the league tables and is as strong as it has ever been".