A&O Shearman has rehired M&A lawyer George Knighton from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom six years after he departed.
Knighton, who co-headed Skadden’s UK corporate practice, joined the New York-headquartered firm, alongside corporate partner Simon Toms, in 2019. In the wake of the magic circle firm confirming the collapse of its merger talks with US firm O’Melveny & Myers.
A leading partner in Legal 500’s upper midmarket M&A and corporate governance tables, Knighton joined legacy Allen & Overy as a trainee in 1997, becoming a partner in 2008. He returns with almost 30 years of experience advising on public and private M&A, joint ventures, board advisory mandates, restructurings and corporate governance.
A&O Shearman announced plans to cut 10% of its partnership by the end of April 2025, a few months after the merger went live in May last year, and the firm has seen a raft of departures.
This month, corporate trust partner Tim Beech joined Reed Smith’s Singapore office, tax partner Simon Letherman decamped to BCLP, while digital infrastructure partner and Legal 500 IT and telecoms leading partner Tom Levine and restructuring partner Nick Charlwood moved to Paul Weiss.
The firm has also hired partners, including Sidley private equity duo Dan Graham and Paul Dunbar, debt finance partners Parisa Clovis and Filippo Crosara from Kirkland & Ellis and Barclays investment bank, respectively, and Travers Smith incentives head Mahesh Varia.
David Broadley, global co-head of M&A at A&O Shearman, hailed the hire: ‘Continued investment in our M&A bench strength is a strategic priority for the firm and bringing George, one of the top dealmakers in the market, back to the firm underscores our elite M&A offering in the U.K. George’s expertise and proven track record across a range of core products key to the M&A market, paired with his strong client relationships, will further enhance our offering.’
Elsewhere in the City, Ashurst tapped Mishcon de Reya real estate partner Todd Wu, BCLP welcomed Taylor Wessing finance partner Lerika Le Grange, and Greenberg Traurig hired private equity counsel Tom Rodzoch from Weil as a shareholder in a vertical move.
Across the Atlantic, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett hired Anat Holtzman from Carlyle Group as a funds partner in Washington DC. Holtzman joins after an eight-year stint at Carlyle where she was head of fund formation for global PE, senior counsel, and managing director.
Meanwhile Akin added real estate funds partner Wendy Dodson Gallegos and infrastructure M&A partner Jason Wagenmaker from Mayer Brown in Chicago. Gallegos co-led the global private funds and investment management practice at Mayer Brown.
Former UK prime minister Lord David Cameron is in discussions with DLA Piper about joining the firm as a consultant.
The talks, first reported in the Financial Times, would see Cameron advise on geopolitical risk.
Should he join, Cameron would be reunited with his former UK Parliament sparring partner Lord David Blunkett. The Labour peer joined the firm last year as an adviser in DLA Piper’s government affairs practice.
Additional members of the government affairs team include former US Republican senators Saxby Chambliss and Richard Burr. DLA Piper declined to comment when approached by LB.
