Legal Business

DLA Piper doubles City promotions amid 48-strong round

London was home to eight of DLA Piper’s expanded partner promotions round, double the number made up last year as the Anglo-American law firm moves to expand in key legal hubs.

Some 29% of this year’s 48-strong promotion round at DLA were based in the UK – with 14 making partner at DLA this year, compared to nine in 2015. Eight of the promotions were in London.

Of the City promotions, the corporate, restructuring and litigation and regulatory teams each received two promotions. The London intellectual property and technology and finance and projects groups received one promotion apiece. The firm’s Leeds and Liverpool offices each received two promotions, with real estate duo Richard Thompson and Andrew Batterton made up as the UK’s booming property market feeds regional UK lawyers.

Reflecting a recent focus on key global hubs, New York also saw a significant slice of the promotions with five new partners at its Avenue of the Americas office, where DLA recently took on more space.

The 48-strong round is the largest since 2012, when DLA made up 58. Corporate saw the largest intake of new partners with 12 promotions, followed by litigation and regulatory with 10 and real estate with seven. The firm’s tax group saw the biggest increase, up from one promotion in 2015 to five this year, as European and US authorities ramp up their focus on tax avoidance and take a harder line on inversion deals that re-domicile corporates to cheaper tax jurisdictions.

With joint Europe and Middle East managing director Juan Picón replacing Nigel Knowles as senior partner on 1 May, the firm has named his replacement, with Milan-based real estate partner Olaf Schmidt elevated to the role.

Co-chief executive Simon Levine (pictured) said: ‘Developing the capability of our people and helping them to realise their potential is a key part of our global strategy and allows us to deliver the highest quality service to our clients.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

 

DLA Piper partner promotions:

UK

Ben Forgiel-Jenkins, London, corporate

Martin Penn, London, corporate

David Ampaw, London, restructuring

Chris Parker, London, restructuring

John Cloke, London, IPT

Maria Pereira, London, finance and projects

Paul Smith, London, litigation and regulatory

Sarah Smith, London, litigation and regulatory

John Gollaglee, Liverpool, litigation and regulatory

Richard Thompson, Liverpool, real estate

Andrew Batterton, Leeds, real estate

Jane Hannon, Leeds, employment

Thomas Kelsall, Manchester, real estate

Christopher Roberts, Manchester, restructuring

Continental Europe

Antonio Carino, Milan, litigation and regulatory

Paolo Foppiani, Milan, real estate

Tudor Nedelea, Bucharest, tax

Cornelius Frie, Cologne, corporate

Galyna Zagorodniuk, Kyiv, corporate

Teresa Zueco, Madrid, corporate

Martin Haller, Munich, real estate

Alberto Angeloni, Rome, litigation and regulatory

Elisabeth Stichmann, Vienna, corporate

US

Richard Rubano, New York, corporate

Colleen Carey, New York, litigation and regulatory

Lucas Przymusinski, New York, litigation and regulatory

Frank Mugabi, New York, tax

Drew Young, New York, tax

Richard Flaggert, Boston, IPT

Jarrod Matteson, Boston, real estate

Jamie Konn, Atlanta, employment

Todd Patterson, Austin, IPT

Thomas Pilkerton, Baltimore, corporate

Claire Hall, Los Angeles, finance and projects

John Huh, Philadelphia, litigation and regulatory

Melissa Bengtson, Phoenix, corporate

Laura Sirianni, Raleigh, finance and projects

Scott Cowan, Short Hills, corporate

Anil Kalia, Silicon Valley, tax

Angela Castro, Silicon Valley, real estate

Jennifer Kashatus, Washington DC, IPT

Asia Pacific

May Ng, Hong Kong, litigation and regulatory

Peng Tao, Hong Kong, tax

Sheng Wu, Hong Kong, corporate

Johnny Choi, Beijing, employment

Kate Papailiou, Brisbane, finance & projects

James Morse, Sydney, litigation and regulatory

Masa Ishida, Tokyo, corporate