Stepping up

To say that Robert Turner has big boots to fill is to underestimate the size of the task ahead of him. Turner took over as head of financial services litigation at Simmons & Simmons on 1 April, with a background of acting in disputes on behalf of hedge fund managers. But for all his strengths, he enjoys nothing like the profile and reputation of his predecessor Jonathan Kelly – nor indeed his predecessor’s predecessor, now firmwide managing partner Mark Dawkins.

Kelly announced his departure from Simmons in early February, and joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in April as the firm’s first English-qualified litigation partner. A member of the board at Simmons, he had led the financial markets litigation practice since Dawkins was elected to the managing partner role in 2005, and had also been responsible for co-ordinating the firm’s US client relationships. His departure seems to be entirely amicable and is driven, he insists, by nothing more than a desire for a new challenge.

Under Kelly’s tenure, and that of Dawkins before him, Simmons has established itself at the top table for investment banking disputes work. Acting for the likes of Credit Suisse, Dresdner Bank and WestLB, Kelly has appeared on some of the biggest cases around, most recently advising UBS on its defence of the $500m mis-selling claims made by HSH Nordbank over HSH’s investment in a synthetic collateralised debt obligation – a rare example of bank-on-bank litigation.

‘To my mind,’ one competitor says, ‘Kelly is the front, back and middleman in the Simmons financial services litigation team. I don’t think I have ever dealt with anyone else there.’

The practice is one of the few where Simmons can genuinely call itself a Magic Circle rival. Stepping into Kelly’s shoes will not be easy.

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