Legal Business

Moves of the month

  • White & Case maintained its recent hiring spree in its litigation practice with the recruitment of Chris Brennan from Addleshaw Goddard. Brennan is White & Case’s second key City disputes lateral hire this year following the addition of Hannah Field-Lowes from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Brennan previously headed up Addleshaw’s Financial Conduct Authority investigations and enforcement team as well as serving as head of regulatory at Lloyds Banking Group.
  • As Allen & Overy lost Nicola Dagg, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer strengthened its intellectual property capability with the addition of Christopher Stothers from Arnold & Porter. Stothers is due to work closely with the firm’s patent litigation teams in Germany and the Netherlands.
  • Ashurst has set about rebuilding after a three-partner exodus at the end of 2017, with the hire of Baker McKenzie’s former global co-head of securitisation Jonathan Walsh. Walsh left Bakers after 13 years, having also served as head of international securities at Norton Rose until 2005.
  • Bakers, meanwhile, made additions of its own this last month, with the hire of Kathy Honeywood to its energy, mining and industrials practice. Honeywood was previously at Clifford Chance, bringing with her experience in M&A transactions, corporate finance and joint ventures. She relocated to Singapore in 2015, where she led the Magic Circle firm’s corporate practice in South-East Asia.
  • Dentons strengthened its City presence with the addition of Howard Barrie, who rejoins the firm after a previous 19-year stint with Dentons before leaving for Eversheds Sutherland. Barrie focuses on projects and project finance, in addition to structured trade finance and commodity finance.
  • Mayer Brown was among those to make strategic international additions, securing the hire of Raúl Fernández-Briseño from White & Case. Fernández spent nearly 20 years at White & Case and will now serve as head of M&A for Mayer Brown in Mexico City.