In a sign that the Magic Circle firm has renewed confidence in its traditional M&A stronghold, Linklaters has promoted nine corporate lawyers to the partnership, nearly 40% of the 23-strong round, spread across the City, Shanghai and its European offices.
Linklaters has elected 23 new partners, two more than in 2014, as it seeks to boost its corporate offering. While just three corporate lawyers were welcomed into the partnership in 2014, nine were this time around, with two of those made up in the City. Just one corporate lawyer was promoted to partner in continental Europe in 2014, but this year was a different story with promotions made across Munich, Madrid, Luxembourg, Brussels and Lisbon indicating a renewed confidence in the cornerstone of its practice. Gilbert Li was also made up in the practice area in Shanghai.
There were nine associates made up to partner at the firm’s London headquarters, one more than this time last year, with associates in the Linklaters’ employment & incentives, dispute resolution, financial regulation, competition, projects and banking groups all making the grade. With promotions taking place across 14 offices, the only other office to see multiple lawyers made up was New York, where tax lawyer Andrew Morris and projects specialist Vijaya Palaniswamy joined the partnership. The changes will take effect on 1 May.
Seven of the new partners, representing just over 30% of the total, are women. Robert Elliott, Linklaters’ chairman and senior partner, said: ‘Our class of 2015 partners are all extremely talented lawyers with deep knowledge of the industries in which they support clients. Their exceptional qualities will help us enhance our market-leading offering and outstanding client service.’
Linklaters partnership promotions in full are:
Corporate
Michael Honan, London
James Wootton, London
Florian Harder, Munich
Kristina Klaaßen-Kaiser, Dusseldorf
Lara Hemzaoui, Madrid
Manfred Muller, Luxembourg
Philippe Remels, Brussels
Marcos Sousa Monteiro, Lisbon
Gilbert Li, Shanghai
Banking
Scott Simpson, London
Etienne Dessy, Brussels
Patrik Björklund, Stockholm
Competition
Lucio D’Amario, Milan
Natura Gracia, London
Financial Regulation Group
Daniel Csefalvay, London
Eriko Sakata, Tokyo
Projects
Mark Russell, London
Vijaya Palaniswamy, New York
Dispute Resolution
Rory Conway, London
Kirstin Schwedt, Munich
Employment & Incentives
Alexandra Beidas, London
Intellectual Property
Pauline Debré, Paris
Tax
Andrew Morris, New York
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
