Leading the leading lateral moves this week, Cadwalader has hired a trio of fund finance partners to its London office. Bronwen Jones arrives from Reed Smith, where she spent six years following two decades at Macfarlanes. She is joined by Douglas Murning and Matthew Worth, both joining from Ashurst.
Clifford Chance strengthened its private capital team with the hire of Patrick Scott as a partner in London. Scott joins from private equity firm KKR, where he served as European counsel since 2019, following previous roles at Simpson Thacher and Freshfields.
Scott’s hire is the latest in a series of private capital partner hires for Clifford Chance this year, including Annie Lewis from Blackstone, and Bruce Embley and Emma Ghaffari, both from Skadden, with Embley a Legal 500-recognised leading partner in premium M&A deals.
Global head of CC’s PE practice Jonny Myers said in a statement: ‘Our global growth strategy has enhanced our team with exceptional talent to meet the increasing demands of our clients. The addition of Patrick Scott, with his international expertise and impressive track record, is a testament to this commitment.’
Elsewhere in London, Nick Tomlinson left Gibson Dunn after 24 years to join Dechert’s private equity practice as a partner in its corporate and securities group. Dual-qualified in England and New York, Tomlinson brings experience in cross-border private equity and M&A transactions.
Akin rehired Kevin Gilroy as a finance partner in London from King & Spalding. Gilroy previously worked at Akin from 2012 to 2019 as an associate and then counsel. He brings with him experience representing financing institutions, noteholders, and bondholders across various finance matters, including restructurings, fund finance, and real estate transactions.
Gilroy’s hire comes less than two weeks after the firm added tax partner Natasha Kaye from Cooley. This followed the July hires of a Cooley team led by London managing partner Justin Stock alongside Stephen Rosen, a Legal 500 Hall of Famer for mid-market private equity transactions who headed Cooley’s London corporate practice, and technology transactions partner David Bresnick.
In a reciprocal move, King & Spalding added to its London office by hiring energy and project finance duo Dan Giemajner and Matt Hardwick from Akin. Recognised by the Legal 500 as next-generation partners in mining and minerals and infrastructure project finance and development respectively, the pair depart Akin after two and a half years, having joined from Norton Rose Fulbright in 2022.
In other City moves, Jones Day strengthened its corporate practice with the hire of Sage Revell as a partner from Brown Rudnick. Revell, who is recognised as a Legal 500 next-generation partner for venture capital, has experience advising on venture capital, M&A, and private equity transactions, particularly in the life sciences and tech sectors, including clients in the women’s health space.
Brown Rudnick also made a lateral hire, bringing in tax partner Matthew Sharp to its litigation and dispute resolution practice from Fieldfisher. Sharp has experience advising on a range of direct and indirect taxation disputes, with particular expertise in employment-related taxation issues, working across various industries and with both companies and private individuals.
Meanwhile, gunnercooke hired the former chief executive of Millwall Football Club to launch a specialist sports division in London. gunnercookeSport will offer a full-service range to sports clubs and players at all levels, covering contract negotiations, sponsorship, regulatory compliance, and M&A.
Finally in London, Judge Joan Donoghue joined Twenty Essex as an arbitrator. Donoghue served as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 2010 to 2024, and as ICJ president 2021-24.
Over in New York, Peter Isajiw joined Clifford Chance as a securities litigation partner, leaving King & Spalding after almost a decade. Prior to that, he spent 12 years at Cadwalader, where he became a partner in 2012.
Clifford Chance has pushed forward with its US strategy in recent months, including hiring partners David Schultz and Matthew Hinker from O’Melveny & Myers in November.
Elsewhere in the Big Apple, White & Case has strengthened its M&A practice by hiring a four-partner team from Cadwalader. The team is led by Richard Brand, a Legal 500-recognised leader in M&A/corporate and commercial law in the US, and also includes partners Kiran Kadekar, Erica Hogan, and Jaye Kasper.
White & Case chair Heather McDevitt said in a statement: ‘They bring an exceptional track record of success in numerous high-profile matters that will support our US-focused growth strategy, and further solidify our status as the preeminent global firm advising shareholders, corporations and boards on M&A, complex corporate governance and activism matters.’
Simpson Thacher added to its registered funds practice in New York with the hire of Evan Hudson as a partner from Alston & Bird. Hudson specialses in real estate and capital markets, advising a diverse range of clients – including retail investment sponsors, investment advisers, and independent directors – on the formation and structuring of real estate investment vehicles.
In Washington DC, Milbank hired Neal Katyal, the former acting US solicitor general during the Obama administration, from Hogan Lovells. He will lead the firm’s appellate practice.
Milbank chairman Scott Edelman said in a statement: ‘Neal has an unparalleled track record advising on many of the most notable Supreme Court cases in the last two decades. He is widely regarded not only as a preeminent appellate lawyer, but also as a trusted advisor to some of the largest businesses in the world.’
On the continent, CC hired A&O Shearman IP litigator David Por into its Paris office. Por has two decades of experience across the range of IP matters, and his hire builds on CC’s Unified Patent Court (UPC) capacity. Por’s is the latest in a string of departures that has seen over 100 partners leave A&O Shearman since the merger was announced in May 2023.
Also in Paris, BCLP hired Paul Hastings Paris office vice chair Jean-Louis Martin as a partner in its real estate team. Martin also headed Paul Hastings’ real estate department 2015-24, and is recognised as a Legal 500 leading partner for real estate in France.
Finally, in Germany, Willkie Farr hired two litigators from Quinn Emmanuel in Hamburg, Rüdiger Lahme and Andreas Ruster. The pair bring with them broad litigation experience with a focus on antitrust and general commercial litigation.
