It has been another busy seven days for senior recruitment, with a host of top 50 UK law firms making senior appointments in the Square Mile and beyond.
In London, Hogan Lovells has bolstered its finance practice with the recruitment of Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) partner Arun Velusami, who leaves the City firm after 11 years, seven of them as a partner. Velusami joins Hogan Lovells’ Africa practice in London and will also be a member of the Anglo-American firm’s energy, infrastructure and projects team. Adrian Walker, global co-head of Hogan Lovells’ energy and projects team, described Velusami as a ‘class act’.
Still in the City, Osborne Clarke (OC) has added to its buyout team, recruiting Squire Patton Boggs’ UK private equity head Tim Hewens. The appointment brings to 11 the number of partners covering private equity at OC.
Eversheds Sutherland, meanwhile, has recruited Jake McQuitty from TLT to strengthen its financial services disputes and investigations team. Before joining TLT in 2015, he was head of EMEA investigations and enforcement at Barclays.
On the international stage, Kennedys, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and Dentons have all announced significant hires.
Kennedys returned to the US to bolster its expanding practice, recruiting from Sedgwick for the second time in a month, taking on the American firm’s Chicago managing partner and two other partners.
The UK-based insurance specialist has recruited Sedgwick partners Eric Scheiner, Dick Geddes and Jennifer Quinn Broda. The team has worked on matters including the Three Mile Island accident, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and explosions at the Piper Alpha oil rig and Buncefield in the UK.
The moves comes after Kennedys in June secured a merger with US practice Carroll McNulty & Kull. Kennedys senior partner Nick Thomas told Legal Business: ‘Since we announced the merger, we have had a lot of calls from a lot of people that say: “The idea of a law firm in the insurance sector with a big US presence and a global footprint looks very interesting, can we join?” It is an attractive platform for many.’
In continental Europe, HSF has hired arbitration partner Thierry Tomasi in Paris from disputes boutique Betto Seraglini. Tomasi specialises in aviation, energy, defence and construction and said he would look to develop his practice into Latin America.
In the Netherlands, Dentons Boekel has recruited a finance team from global rival Baker McKenzie. Former head of Bakers’ Dutch lending team Marcel Janssen will become Dentons’ head of banking and finance in Amsterdam, joining with three associates. The hires comes after Dentons’ merger in April with national practice Boekel.
