Legal Business Blogs

Revolving doors: Skadden and Goodwin launch new offices as Weil and Clifford Chance add key laterals

As the new year unfolds, Goodwin has launched its seventh European office in Brussels, hiring antitrust partner Stephen Mavroghenis from Quinn Emanuel. He was previously head of then-Shearman & Sterling’s Brussels office and co-head of its global antitrust group.  

Goodwin’s move into Brussels follows Paul Weiss’s move into the continent last April, with the hires of antitrust partners Ross Ferguson from Simpson Thacher and Richard Pepper from Macfarlanes, complementing the Wall Street firm’s headline-grabbing London build out. 

In other US firm office launches, Skadden opened its first Middle East office in Abu Dhabi, hiring long-time Freshfields corporate partner Michael Hilton to head both the office and the Middle East practice group. Hilton spent 23 years at Freshfields in Dubai before making the move to Skadden.  

‘We have a long and successful track record of working with corporations, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and other governmental entities in the region on many of their most high-stakes, high-profile matters,’ said global head of Skadden’s transactions practice Lorenzo Corte in a statement, adding that Hilton’s hire ‘will be key to growing those relationships’.

Just last year, Quinn Emanuel opened an office in Riyadh after Kirkland & Ellis opened in the region in November 2023, hiring partners Noor Al-Fawzan from Latham & Watkins and Manal Al-Musharaf from White & Case, respectively. 

Skadden also made moves in the City, hiring Patrick O’Gara to head up its London tax controversy and litigation group. O’Gara joins after nearly 21 years at Baker McKenzie, where he made partner in 2015. He is recognised in the Legal 500 as a next-generation partner in corporate tax.

Other global moves included Clifford Chance welcoming Legal 500 banking and finance leading partner Gianluca Fanti to its structured debt and special situations team in Milan. Fanti joins from White & Case, where he spent eight years following a five-year stint as a partner at Ashurst. 

Earlier this week, Clifford Chance strengthened its private capital team with the hire of well-known M&A partner Bruce Embley from Skadden in London, with global private equity head Jonny Myers noting the firm is ‘growing rapidly’ in an interview with Legal Business. 

Over at Weil, infrastructure finance partner Simon Caridia has joined the London office from White & Case. With more than 20 years of experience in the infrastructure sector, he brings expertise advising sponsors, private equity funds, and bank lenders.

Tom Richards, co-head of Weil’s London finance practice said in a statement: ‘Infrastructure clients demand integrated practice capabilities, and Simon has that level of excellence we need to service the financing needs of our client portfolios.’

Simmons & Simmons hired DLA Piper UK competition head Sarah Smith as its new UK competition and antitrust (CAT) team head. The move comes after Simmons’ previous CAT head Satyen Dhana moved to Kirkland last August after six years at Simmons.

Smith, a DLA lifer, joins after more than 21 years at the firm. Simmons’ UK dispute resolution group head Patrick Boylan noted: ‘Securing a partner of Sarah’s calibre and experience as our new competition head is a significant boost for the firm.’

Elsewhere in the City, Jenner & Block launched a public law and crisis management practice with the hire of Joanna Ludlam, a Legal 500 leading partner in regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates).

Ludlam, who joins from Baker McKenzie where she spent 15 years, has worked on many high-profile matters, including the legal challenge to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of parliament before Brexit and advising clients in public inquiries such as the Post Office Horizon Inquiry. 

Baker McKenzie saw another departure this week as disputes partner Marc Thorley moved to BCLP. Leaving Bakers after four and a half years, during which he served as EMEA lead for its global financial services institutions group, Thorley brings with him experience in complex litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters in the financial services sector. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years as a partner at Simmons & Simmons.

In other City moves, DLA Piper saw litigation and arbitration specialist Jeremy Andrews leave for Faegre Drinker. Recognised by the Legal 500 as a leading partner in civil fraud, Andrews leaves DLA after 12 years, during which he co-led its practice. He brings more than two decades of experience working with clients across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, and natural resources. 

Travers Smith experienced another departure with long-time partner Ben Chivers, a Legal 500 leading partner for commercial contracts, moving to new-model law firm Temple Bright. His departure adds to a series of recent losses, including PE head Ian Shawyer who joined Cleary in January 2023, and Genna Marten, who moved to Linklaters two months before.

‘I’m looking forward to a new challenge and doing things a bit differently,’ Chivers told Legal Business. ‘There is a compelling offering at Temple Bright and the opportunity to pick up great work from some really interesting private equity-backed companies in the mid-market space.’

Meanwhile, over at CMS, Freeths funds partner George Metcalfe has joined the firm’s London office, after previously working at both Simmons & Simmons and DLA Piper. This hire comes as CMS has faced several departures over the past few months, including TMT head Clive Gringras who moved to Sidley in December, and Jason Zemmel, who co-headed the firm’s international PE group before moving to McDermott in October. 

This week, McDermott also hired restructuring partner Alexander Wood for its transactions practice group in London. Wood previously led then-Shearman & Sterling’s London restructuring team before moving to a consultant role at the firm from January 2023 to April 2024, according to his LinkedIn, and left just before Shearman’s merger with A&O a month later. 

His hire follows a series of recent lateral hires for McDermott, including acquisition finance partner Chris Kandel from MoFo in May and M&A partner Sebastian Bonneau from Eversheds in October. 

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk