Anthropic names new GC as Big Law pushes deeper into AI. Anthropic has appointed Elena Leichty as general counsel, succeeding Jeffrey Bleich, who will transition to international special envoy. Leichty joined Anthropic three years ago after five years as corporate legal counsel at Google and previously worked at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. The leadership change comes as Anthropic expands its government and legal-tech efforts, including hiring former California Supreme Court Justice Tino Cuéllar as chief global affairs officer and former Akiva AI CEO Robert Mahari as legal lead for its flagship software. Market movements. * White & Case LLP Adds Ex-Kirkland Real Estate, Mergers & Acquisitions Pro, Joseph Sultan In Miami * Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP has tapped a Goodwin Procter partner, William "Willy" Jay, with extensive appellate experience to lead itsU.S. Supreme Court practice * King & Spaldinghas deepened its construction and energy litigation offerings with a Dallas-based counsel from Reed Smith LLP, Eugenie Rogers * Jones Walker LLP announced Monday that it has brought on five attorneys from a shuttering boutique law firm to bolster its office in Lafayette, Louisiana,Thomas G. Smart and Steven C. Lanza, David M. Fink, Mark B. Oliver and Douglas W. Truxillo Firm spotlight - Mayer Brown LLP. Mayer Brown is a leading global law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers and a strong reputation in corporate, finance, appellate, and financial services work. Founded in Chicago in 1879 through an unlikely partnership between Levy Mayer and Adolf Kraus, the firm has grown into an international powerhouse. It is particularly recognized for its Supreme Court and appellate practice, as well as its work with major financial institutions. Beyond its legal expertise, Mayer Brown emphasizes professional development through individualized and group coaching focused on career growth, communication, mentorship, and work-life transitions. Industry insights. * Wells Fargo pointed out that lawyer compensation increased 8.9% in the first half of 2026 but slowed from the 10.5% growth experienced this time last year. * Fast fashion retailer SHEIN has tapped Big Law firms including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates and Latham & Watkins to advise on its IPO. SHEIN Global Holdings is seeking to raise up to HK$13.9 billion ($1.8 billion) in Hong Kong after regulatory scrutiny derailed earlier US and London listing attempts. * Probabilistic AI School (ProbAI) still hallucinates at rates as high as 69% to 88%. As a result, 39% of lawyers cite a lack of trust in AI results as a key barrier to adoption, while only 6% of clients say their vendors currently deliver AI-enabled quality.BigLaw firms saw "rare" demand growth and double-digit revenue gains in the first half of 2026, according to Citi. Demand rose 4.2%, well above the historical 1.5%-2% range, helping drive an 11.7% increase in revenue from the same period in 2025. Newcode Raises Funding to Expand AI Legal Platform in U.S. Newcode.ai, a Norway-based legal tech startup, is expanding in the U.S. after raising a Series A round, bringing its total 2026 funding to $20 million. Its AI-powered legal operating system helps law firms centralize workflows, manage legal intelligence and connect with other AI tools and data sources. The company serves more than 60 law firms and government agencies across Europe and the U.S., with revenue more than tripling over the past year. Newcode.ai plans to use the funding to expand its U.S. presence and invest in customer support, product development and go-to-market operations. Legal Experts Stress Human Judgment in AI Adoption Experts at ILTACON 2026 emphasized that while AI can improve legal work, lawyers must maintain human judgment and oversight. Panelists warned against "vibe lawyering," where attorneys rely too heavily on AI to make legal decisions, and stressed the importance of reviewing AI-generated work for errors. They also highlighted the need for firms to strategically select and train employees on AI tools, measure ROI and experiment safely to understand their limitations.

The Lawyer presents the IFLR Americas Awards 2026: shortlist announced. August 21 2026 Clifford Chance, Davis Polk & Wardwell, Latham & Watkins and White & Case are among the firms shortlisted at this year's IFLR Americas Awards. The winners of the 2026 Americas Awards will be honoured in New York on October 15. The awards ceremony will be held at Capitale, 130 Bowery, New York City. To find out more and to book your place at the awards, please contact Nick Heath on [email protected]. The 2026 edition spans more than 150 awards, including new areas such as sports and mining, as well as six transatlantic winner-only honours introduced through collaboration with The Lawyer. These new transatlantic categories include recognition for teams of the year across debt and equity capital markets, M&A, private equity, lender finance and transatlantic firm of the year. This collaboration helps broaden the evidence base for categories recognising the firms, teams, individuals and deals shaping cross-border legal work between the US, UK and the broader Americas region. The winners of the transatlantic categories will be announced on the night. IFLR's awards are unique in the market for focusing on legal innovation through dealmaking and celebrating work that improves the cross-border investment environment. The law firms listed on each of the shortlisted deals below are based on preliminary research. If your firm advised on one of the deals but is not listed, please contact Brandon Edwards on [email protected] The Teams of the Year shortlists are: Debt and equity-linked A&O Shearman Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Clifford Chance Davis Polk & Wardwell Milbank Simpson Thacher & Bartlett White & Case CFIUS Covington & Burling Ropes & Gray Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case Equity Davis Polk & Wardwell Kirkland & Ellis Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Ropes & Gray Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case Financial services regulatory - global Arnold & Porter Davis Polk & Wardwell Debevoise & Plimpton Mayer Brown Financial services regulatory - regional Bello, Gallardo, Bonequi y García Conyers Dill & Pearman McCarthy Tétrault Torys White & Case Mexico High-yield A&O Shearman Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Clifford Chance Davis Polk & Wardwell Mayer Brown Milbank Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Loan Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Davis Polk & Wardwell Kirkland & Ellis Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown Milbank Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom M&A Davis Polk & Wardwell Latham & Watkins Milbank Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Ropes & Gray Sullivan & Cromwell Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz Willkie Farr & Gallagher Mining A&O Shearman Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Clifford Chance Linklaters Norton Rose Fulbright Paul Hastings Sullivan & Cromwell WilmerHale Private equity Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Debevoise & Plimpton Kirkland & Ellis Latham & Watkins Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Stikeman Elliot Pro bono Bodman Clifford Chance Debevoise & Plimpton Duane Morris Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Project finance A&O Shearman Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown Milbank Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case Restructuring and insolvency Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld Brown Rudnick Davis Polk & Wardwell Milbank Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz Weil Gotshal & Manges White & Case Securitization and structured finance Clifford Chance Hogan Lovells Cadwalader Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown Paul Hastings Sidley Austin Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sports ArentFox Schiff Goodwin Procter Latham & Watkins Proskauer Rose Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz Sports - Mexico Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez Cuatrecasas Galicia Abogados Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes Sainz Abogados Senior Reporter, IFLR

LEO Pharma further strengthens late-stage pipeline with the acquisition of Dersimelagon. * 5 hrs ago LEO Pharma, a global leader in medical dermatology delivering innovative solutions for skin disease, today announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire worldwide rights to dersimelagon from Tanabe Pharma. Dersimelagon is an oral, once-daily small MC1R agonist being developed for EPP and XLP. EPP and XLP are rare and severe genetic diseases that cause severe sunlight-induced skin damage and can significantly limit patients' ability to spend time outdoors. Symptoms may include skin rash, swelling, redness, burning sensations and, in some cases, liver damage. Dersimelagon is designed to increase skin melanin, helping reduce sunlight penetration and protect against phototoxic reactions.[2,3] Anne Hathaway hints at 'story breakthrough' for The Princess Diaries 3 "Patients living with EPP or XLP face the devastating lifelong burden of severe reactions to sunlight, and there is a clear need for treatment options that can make a meaningful difference in their everyday lives," said Christophe Bourdon, CEO, LEO Pharma. "By addressing a clear unmet need in a rare skin disease, dersimelagon represents a compelling opportunity to expand our rare dermatology pipeline with a late-stage oral therapy candidate. This acquisition is closely aligned with our strategy of identifying and investing in high-impact innovation in medical dermatology, where LEO Pharma brings deep disease understanding, and a global commercial footprint to bring this therapy to patients." "EPP and XLP are devastating lifelong diseases that can severely limit patients' ability to live everyday lives free from sunlight-induced pain, and dersimelagon has the potential to become an important new treatment option," said Akihisa Harada, CEO of Tanabe Pharma. "LEO Pharma's established expertise in medical dermatology and global reach make it the ideal partner to realize the full potential of dersimelagon and, if approved, bring this innovative treatment to patients." The acquisition reflects LEO Pharma's strategy to continue to strengthen its medical dermatology portfolio through targeted partnerships, acquisitions, and external innovation, with rare dermatology as a key focus area. Building on the 2025 partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim for Spevigo(R)(spesolimab) and the recent acquisition of Replay's next-generation HSV gene therapy platform, LEO Pharma continues to pursue opportunities in rare skin diseases with high unmet need. This includes key innovation markets such as the U.S. and Japan, where the company's dermatology expertise and global capabilities can help advance new treatment options for patients. Dersimelagon has been granted both U.S. FDA Fast Track Designation and Orphan Drug Designation, and an NDA for the treatment of EPP and XLP was submitted to the U.S. FDA for regulatory review in June 2026, but has not yet been approved by the FDA or any other regulatory agency. Dersimelagon's safety and efficacy have not been established by any regulatory authority. If approved, dersimelagon would represent the first oral therapy for the treatment of EPP and XLP and help address an area of significant unmet need. Earlier this year, Tanabe Pharma announced results from the global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 INSPIRE study of EPP and XLP which showed dersimelagon demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful outcomes across primary and secondary endpoints, including key functional outcomes such as a significant prolongation of average daily sunlight exposure time to first prodromal symptoms.[4] The Phase 3 data was presented as a late breaker at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting (AAD). Under the terms of the agreement, LEO Pharma will acquire worldwide rights to dersimelagon from Tanabe Pharma for up to USD 435 million in up front and near-term milestone payments together with potential downstream milestones and tiered royalties on net sales. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals. The acquisition is expected to increase LEO Pharma's investments in 2026 for pre-launch activities and in 2027 for a potential launch. An update on the financial outlook for 2026 will be provided in connection with the publication of LEO Pharma's H1 2026 Interim Report on 18 August 2026. J.P. Morgan Securities plc acted as financial advisors to LEO Pharma in this transaction and Latham Watkins LLP acted as legal advisors. About LEO Pharma LEO Pharma is a global leader in medical dermatology. Mycarrollcountynews deliver innovative solutions for skin health, building on a century of experience with breakthrough medicines in healthcare. Mycarrollcountynews is committed to making a fundamental difference in people's lives, and its broad portfolio of treatments serves close to 100 million patients in over 70 countries annually. LEO Pharma is co-owned by majority shareholder the LEO Foundation and, since 2021, Nordic Capital. Headquartered in Denmark, LEO Pharma has a team of 4,400 people worldwide. Together, Mycarrollcountynews reach far beyond the skin. For more information, visit www.leo-pharma.com. About Tanabe Pharma Tanabe Pharma Corporation is a Japan-focused, innovation-driven pharmaceutical company guided by its mission, "Creating hope for all facing illness." Founded in 1678, the Company is one of Japan's oldest pharmaceutical companies and is committed to addressing unmet medical needs through R&D, business development, and strategic partnerships with the aim of improving the lives of patients. References: * ClinicalTrials.gov. National Library of Medicine (U.S.). INcreased Sun Exposure Without Pain In Research Participants With EPP or XLP (INSPIRE). Identifier: NCT06144840. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06144840. * Wensink D, et al. Liver involvement in patients with EPP. 2021 * Balwani M. Erythropoietic Protoporphyria and X-Linked Protoporphyria: pathophysiology, genetics, clinical manifestations, and management. 2019 * Tanabe Pharma Corporation. Tanabe Pharma Announces Positive Data from Phase 3 INSPIRE Study of Dersimelagon in EPP and XLP. Press release. March 30, 2026. Available at: https://www.tanabe-pharma.com/en/news/rel_260330/main/0/link/e_rel_260330.pdf Media gallery