Mark Hopson, a member of Sidley Austin’s management and executive committees, became the firm’s Washington, D.C., managing partner today, the same day Carter Phillips ascended to the co-chairmanship of Sidley’s executive committee.

A federal judge has denied a motion for sanctions that a former Elliott Greenleaf partner filed against the firm for alleging in a complaint that he misused escrow funds. William R.

Amid an ongoing flood of partner departures, Dewey & LeBoeuf management issued a memo late Monday informing partners who have stuck with the firm that fiduciary duties do not restrict them from considering or pursuing career alternatives outside those the firm leaders are discussing with possible transaction partners.

Veteran Supreme Court advocate Carter Phillips will chair Sidley Austin’s worldwide executive committee in 2013, the firm has announced. Phillips, who intends to stay in D.C., said it isn’t that unusual for a firm to be headed by a partner who is not based in its hometown. “For better or worse, the sun never sets on Sidley,” he said.

Appellate lawyer Ruth Piller has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against her former employer, Houston’s Hays, McConn, Rice & Pickering, alleging the firm discriminated against her on the basis of her gender and her neurological disorder-related disability.