Wake Up Call: Hawai’i Faces Shortage of Court-Appointed Lawyers

Welcome to Bloomberg Law’s Wake Up Call, a daily rundown of the top news for lawyers, law firms, and in-house counsel.

• A severe shortage of court-appointed attorneys in Hawaii—especially in Kona—leaves more than a third of defendants waiting longer than three months for representation by a public attorney. The crisis stems from decades of stagnant pay, a shrinking pool of willing attorneys, and overloaded public defender offices. Recent legislation aims to ease the problem by increasing the current $90 hourly rate to $150, but many lawyers in the state argue it won’t be enough to resolve issues. (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• The city of Charlotte, N.C., paid former a former city attorney over $230,000 after his quiet departure following a private City Council decision to remove him—allegedly tied to his release of public records. The city did not disclose whether Patrick Baker resigned or was fired, but records indicate he was terminated without cause, triggering a severance of half his annual salary plus payment for unused leave. (The Charlotte Observer)
• A Long Island real estate lawyer allegedly spent more that $1 million from his clients’ escrow accounts on adult entertainment clubs, expensive restaurants, and fancy hotels. According to prosecutors, Terrance Dougherty, who represented people buying and selling property, plundered the accounts of more than 20 clients between 2021 and 2024, taking over $1.2 million to fuel his lifestyle. (Newsday)

Laterals, Moves, In-House

• Alistair McKechnie joined Freshfields as a partner in its energy and infrastructure practice. He joins from Paul Hastings.
• Nili Moghaddam joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a partner in its complex commercial litigation practice in New York. She joins from Boies Schiller Flexner.
• John Schnurer, Louise Lu, Kevin Patariu, Miguel Bombach, and Tom Anderton joined Foley & Lardner as partners in its intellectual property department. Schnurer, Lu, Patariu, and Bombach join from Perkins Coie. Anderton joins from K&L Gates.
• Fernando Margarit joined Hogan Lovells as a corporate and finance partner in its infrastructure, energy, resources, and projects practice in Miami. He joins from Hunton Andrews Kurth.
• James Cameron joined Gibson Dunn as a partner in its finance practice group and as co-chair of its transportation and space practice group in London.
• Gregory Mitchell joined Faegre Drinker as a partner in its intellectual property practice in New York.
• James Morrissey and Kyle Johnson joined Massumi + Consoli as partners in its new real estate practice in New York.
• Dawn David joined Quarles & Brady as a partner in its intellectual property practice group in Milwaukee.