WilmerHale

WilmerHale is proud to be part of a significant legal challenge addressing the administration of California's capital punishment scheme. Alongside the Legal Defense Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Northern California and the Office of the State Public Defender, we filed a first-of-its-kind extraordinary writ petition in April on behalf of petitioners who assert that the administration of California’s death penalty violates the state’s constitution. The Supreme Court of California has recently ordered parties to respond to questions about the nature of “cruel or unusual punishment” as applied in death penalty sentences, marking an important development signaling the court’s interest in resolving the state's allegedly racially discriminatory use of capital punishment. Read more at the link below.

On January 9, WilmerHale will host “International Trade Post-Election Update: What to Expect in the New Administration,” a webinar exploring the anticipated changes in international trade issues and the potential impacts. This event is part of our Post-Election Update Center efforts aimed at providing insights on navigating the second Trump Administration and 119th Congress. Join WilmerHale Partners David Ross, Jeffrey Kessler, Lauren Mandell and Neena Shenai to gain insight on strategies for companies to mitigate risks and adapt to this new era of international trade. Register today at the link below.

On December 5, the Colorado AG’s Department of Law adopted a new set of amendments to the Colorado Privacy Act rules, which will go into effect on January 30, 2025. In this blog post, Partner Kirk Nahra, Senior Associate Ali Jessani and Associate Amy Olivero summarize what the final rule amendments impose and how they differ from the prior proposed versions.

On December 12, lawyers from WilmerHale’s Washington DC office organized and led an impactful panel discussion on the critical issue of American hostages in Iran. The event brought together former hostages, key experts and lawmakers to examine the ongoing challenges and potential solutions to hostage-taking by the Iranian government, and saw influential staffers from the House, Senate and State Department in attendance, fostering a productive exchange of ideas on how to address this ongoing and urgent challenge. David Bowker, Partner-in-Charge of our Washington DC office and Chair of the firm’s International Litigation Group, moderated the discussion. Other members of the WilmerHale team involved with the panel include Senior Public Policy Advisor Robert Lehman, Public Policy Advisor Brian A. Skretny, Counsel Donna Farag and Senior Associate Douglas Gates. Read more about the panel here: https://bit.ly/3DtTjmj

In a Global Investigations Review article, Lloyd Firth, Whitney Russell and Matthew Beville are highlighted for being elevated to partner.

WilmerHale recently represented the underwriters in a follow-on public offering of common stock and pre-funded warrants by Candel Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer. Learn more about the transaction at the link below.

Michael Kaplan was featured in The Deal, which covers his recent promotion to partner and profiles his experience counseling clients on complex real estate projects and transactions.

A WilmerHale team recently represented Trevi Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, in its pricing of a $50 million underwritten offering of common stock. Read more about the deal and the team at the link below.

On January 10, Senior Counsel Julie Williams will speak on the panel, “Fintech Partnerships: Where Do We Go From Here?” at the American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee Meeting. The panel will cover the practical considerations for both banks and fintechs of current regulatory developments implicating those relationships and what may be in store in the future.

Partner Mark Ford and Associate Kristen Parnigoni authored an article in the November 2024 issue of Concurrences examining the convergence of regulatory and judicial developments against the backdrop of the Hatch-Waxman Act’s framework for generic drug approval and the recent Orange Book Transparency Act of 2020.