Laterals hires have continued on both sides of the pond as UK firms make inroads in the US.
Just months on from its London inception at the start of the year, Pallas Partners has announced the launch of US operations with the hire of Duane Loft in New York. Loft, who specialises in restructuring and bankruptcy disputes, will lead the stateside practice, which is soon to welcome further laterals, according to founder and managing partner Natasha Harrison (pictured). Like Harrison, Loft joins from Boies Schiller Flexner after 11 years at the firm.
‘Our London opening exceeded even my best expectations, and I am thrilled that just six months later we are in a position to launch our US presence with a truly formidable team in New York’ said Harrison. ‘I have worked closely with Duane for many years and am delighted that he has agreed to join us. We share a similar work ethos and a burning commitment to create a different kind of law firm capable of leveraging bold, winning strategies that drive value for our clients.
‘The US is the world’s most sophisticated litigation market and is the main driver of cross-border litigation in Europe, so it is an important part of our strategy to have strength in depth in both London and New York. We will continue to grow our New York office with further lateral hires.’
Also in New York, Linklaters has hired structured finance and derivatives duo Joseph Gambino and Peter Williams from Alston & Bird. Joining alongside senior associate Elizabeth Walker, they add expertise in collateralised loan obligation transactions.
Hwang Hwa Sim, global head of capital markets, commented: ‘At Linklaters, we have market-leading capital markets teams in the US, the UK, Europe and Asia, which operate seamlessly as one practice. As we continue to draw strength from our global footprint, Joseph and Peter’s broad deal experience and deep background in CLOs adds immense value to our platform.’
In London, Hogan Lovells’ head of power, renewables and energy transition, Alex Harrison, has joined Akin Gump. Harrison’s broad experience spans from power generation, energy transition, greenfield and brownfield project development to project and structured financing and electricity regulation.
Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith said: ‘In this period of unprecedented change for the global energy economy, Alex is a significant and timely addition to our firm as we continue to strengthen our global energy transition practice. His experience, industry standing and in-depth knowledge are welcomed and will be of huge benefit to our clients.’
Meanwhile, Goodwin continues its ‘dramatic expansion’ with the addition of life sciences partner Morag Peberdy from Covington, where she was of counsel. Peberdy adds experience in drafting and negotiating IP agreements for a full range of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. This is the firm’s latest expansion of its life sciences practice that has nearly doubled in headcount over the last three years.
Mishcon de Reya has strengthened its finance practice with the addition of asset-based lending partner Steven Geerlings, marking the firm’s 11th partner hire of 2022. Geerlings most recently worked at Dentons, having left earlier this year. A native Dutch speaker, who is fluent in English, Italian, French and German, he adds international strength with experience working with clients across the US and Europe.
Eversheds Sutherland has added employment litigation partner Hannah Mahon from GQ Littler, where she also led the legal technology practice. Her key clients include investment banks, private equity firms, brokers and tech companies.
Finally, in Dubai, Gowling WLG has hired Imran Mufti to lead the firm’s Saudi Arabia practice. Mufti counts Islamic finance, Islamic capital markets and structured finance among his areas of expertise.
