Legal Business Blogs

Clifford Chance and Linklaters make most of their partner promotions in Europe

Partner promotions continue apace with Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance (CC) and Linklaters the latest to announce their numbers, the majority of which are in Europe.

CC welcomed 20 new lawyers to its partnership, with three-quarters of those promotions spread across Europe, while Linklaters promoted 24 partners, of which 19 were in Europe.

CC announced five London based promotions, namely corporate lawyers Tom Evans and Nick Hughes, finance partners Peter Dahlen and Oliver Hipperson and litigator Maxine Mossman.

Half of CC’s total promotions were spread across the firm’s central European offices with three in Paris, two each in Madrid and Frankfurt and one apiece in Düsseldorf, Milan and Amsterdam. Three lawyers were made up in Asia, one in the US and one in Saudi Arabia.

The number of promotions is down from 27 in 2012, bringing the total to 589 partners.

CC managing partner David Childs said: ‘Many of this year’s new partners have demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting the growth of the firm’s offering internationally, including leading development efforts in a wide range of markets beyond their “home” office, into Scandinavia, the Middle East, Latin America and South East Asia.

‘This international mindset is at the heart of our firm’s culture and it is very pleasing to see our principles so clearly embodied in these individuals.’

Linklaters, meanwhile elected six new London partners – Stuart Boyd and Savi Hebbur in mainstream corporate, litigators Ben Carroll and Harriet Ellis, Edward Aldred in banking and Timothy Lowe in tax.

In Europe promotions were spread across Paris, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Brussels, Amsterdam, Madrid, Warsaw, Lisbon and Moscow. The remaining five were in Beijing, Hong Kong and Dubai, with two in New York.

Linklaters’ chairman and senior partner Robert Elliott said: ‘These promotions underline our commitment to invest in our global practices in order to enhance the breadth and depth of expertise we offer our clients.’

Promotions at both firms will take effect from 1 May 2013.

Meanwhile, Lawrence Graham has announced three partner promotions – the same as last year – with two in London and one in Monaco. Since March 2012 nine new partners have joined the firm from Bird & Bird, Herbert Smith, Linklaters and Stephenson Harwood. Most recently private capital partner Zac Lucas joined the Singapore office in February from Ogier.

Elsewhere Watson Farley & Williams has promoted four partners, Jahnavi Ramachandran and Kavita Shah in asset finance in London, and Ahmad Khonsari and Daniel Marhewka in the corporate department in Munich.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk