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By Sara Merken

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Plus, scroll on for your weekly Career Tracker.

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California’s botched February bar exam will cost the State Bar of California almost $6 million more than expected in July, with millions in added expenses in the years to come, officials told state lawmakers. Read more.

The California bar's decision to switch to its own bar exam, given both remotely and in person, was expected to save the state bar up to $3.8 million a year. But the problem-plagued February exam and its fallout are now a financial drain on the already cash-strapped state bar. 

The state bar expects to lose about $3 million in revenue because it is waiving the July testing fees for those who failed or withdrew from the February exam, executive director Leah Wilson told the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing on a bill that would mandate a state audit of the February test.

In New York: Proskauer added leveraged finance partners Ally de Padua and Frank Oliver from A&O Sherman … Clifford Chance hired partner Reuven Falik as co-chair of its U.S. executive compensation practice from Paul Weiss … Sidley brought on antitrust and competition partner Mary Marks from Davis Polk … King & Spalding added private equity and M&A partner Jason Osborn from Winston & Strawn … Steptoe hired partner Neel Chopra, who was the head of legal for the Americas at Binance … Seward & Kissel brought on Edward Vergara as co-head of its trusts and estates practice from Dungey Dougherty.

In D.C.: Axinn hired Mary Helen Wimberly as a partner from the DOJ’s antitrust division … Freshfields brought on antitrust partner Marin Boney from Kirkland … Kelly Ann Shaw, a former top White House trade adviser in President Trump's first term, joined Akin … Cozen O’Connor hired maritime partner Jeffrey Hardin Lewis from the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration … Latham picked up merger control partner David Brenneman from Morgan Lewis … Former Federal Election Commissioner Allen Dickerson joined BakerHostetler as a partner … DLA Piper added Maria Alejandra del-Cerro from Crowell and Elyssa Kutner from Sidley as partners in its national security and global trade practice … Seyfarth Shaw added government contracts partner Zohra Tejani from Fenwick. 

In Boston: Emerging companies and venture capital partner Laura Stoffel joined Cooley from Gunderson Dettmer … Sidley added partners Jason Kropp and Craig Hilts from WilmerHale … Orrick hired life sciences and tech venture capital partners Mark Solakian and Jake Gatof from Wilson Sonsini. 

In Dallas: Greenberg Traurig added partner Bill Katz as global co-chair of its antitrust litigation and competition regulation practice from Holland & Knight … Vinson & Elkins hired real estate partner Nick Buehner from Trammell Crow Company.

In Chicago: McDermott added capital markets partner Craig Garvey from Kirkland …Honigman brought on private client practice Ken Goldstein from Kilpatrick Townsend … Pierson Ferdinand hired IP partner Eric Kohli from Brooks Kushman ... Venable hired construction partner Charles Wahtola from Stein Ray.

Across other cities: McGuireWoods hired former North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park as a partner in Raleigh … Vedder Price brought on labor and employment partner Kimberley Lunetta in Miami from Morgan Lewis … Mayer Brown picked up real estate finance partner Ella Marie-Smith in Charlotte from Dechert … Becker added eight community association and litigation lawyers in Tampa from Shumaker … Troutman Pepper Locke hired energy regulatory partner Casey Bell in Austin from Duggins Wren Mann & Romero … Troutman Pepper Locke also added private equity partner Benjamin Mittman in Philadelphia  from Dentons … Vinson & Elkins