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‘Shame on them’ – how political views are making GCs think twice about law firms

Political considerations are rising up the agenda for GCs when selecting which external law firms to work with, with concerns over values increasingly impacting relationships with outside counsel.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s annual Chief Legal Officers Survey, which surveyed more than a thousand chief legal officers and legal executives around the world, found that 13% had changed their approach to evaluating and selecting outside counsel based on political developments in the US.

Of that group, almost half (41%) said that they had added new risk categories to their outside counsel evaluation criteria, including vetting a firm’s political affiliations, public statements or client roster.

More than a third (37%) said they had gone even further and stopped working with specific law firms due to concerns about their political associations, their stances on specific policies and public profile.

Legal Business spoke with a number of GCs to get their thoughts on how these factors are influencing relationships with law firms.

‘It makes me think twice about the loyalty they’d have for us as clients’

One GC did not mince his words, commenting: ‘If the biggest and most powerful law firms in the world are going to let themselves be bullied and not stand up for the rule of law, separation of powers, and, frankly, not stand up for groups of people that aren’t as well equipped to defend themselves, then shame on them.’

‘It also makes me think twice about the loyalty they’d have for us as clients and their staying power in defending those clients who choose to stand up to bullying behaviour. At some point, money and profit can’t be everything.’

One GC at a company with a prominent presence in North America said they were surprised that the proportion of legal heads factoring political considerations into their choice of law firms was not even higher.

The survey did provide evidence of stronger views in other Western economies, with 18% of respondents from European companies saying that they had altered their stance, above the US at 15% and Canada at 14%.

In contrast, just 7% of respondents from Asia, Australia and the Middle East said these factors had changed the way they evaluate law firms.

‘Some suppliers and customers are very, very red, and others are very, very blue’

For some senior in-house lawyers, the response from some law firms to US President Donald Trump’s accusations of ‘illegal DEI discrimination’ has served as a line in the sand.

Many firms opted to cut deals with Trump, offering millions of dollars in pro bono and other legal work in exchange for protection from his threats, although others did opt to challenge the President in court, with some success.

One GC cited the increasingly polarised nature of US politics as a serious issue when doing business in the States – particularly given the legal considerations relating to positive discrimination.

‘In the US, it’s illegal to have positive discrimination against or for any employees based on characteristics other than social mobility. You’ve got to go through your entire stakeholder map and understand how your own organization is viewed, particularly in the US,’ they said.

Referring to the Republican/Democrat divide in the US, the GC elaborated: ‘We have some suppliers and customers who are very, very red, and some who are very, very blue – we have to change our narrative in terms of what our company position is. For certain sectors, it’s really important.’

A number of major companies, including GSK, Boeing and Disney, made headlines at the start of last year for cutting DEI targets and modifying their outside messaging after Trump’s executive orders were issued.

While for some companies, political developments in the US are an unavoidable issue, for others, they are not seen as business critical.

One GC was very clear that the quality of service a firm provides remains the key driver: ‘Politics is not a primary consideration for me. My focus remains on core factors like quality of work, responsiveness, judgement, and the firm’s ability to support the business effectively.’

Another GC reiterated this point: ‘We always evaluate our panel firms based on a lot of different criteria. What’s important to us is ensuring that we’re getting the best advisers with the best technical skills that are well-regarded and well-connected.’

However, the GC acknowledged that when values don’t match, in their experience, there could be problems in the working relationship further down the line, ‘if we don’t have that alignment, then there is the potential for us to be unable to work collegiately.’

‘You can’t go on any device without seeing the former chair of Paul Weiss’

While the fallout from Trump’s executive orders last year appears to have subsided, the revelations in the recent release of the Epstein files – many of which involve lawyers and law firms – have once again given GCs pause for thought on the affiliations or perceived affiliations of the firms they work with.

One GC explained their perspective on the recent headlines with specific reference to Brad Karp, who stood down as chair of Paul Weiss following revelations about his connections to Epstein.

‘You can’t go on any device without seeing the former chair of Paul Weiss,’ they said. ‘If an individual in a law firm that we engage in was directly involved, we would certainly be carefully considering what our relationship with them should be, and the capacity in which we would continue to work with them.’

They continued: ‘The criteria we have for law firm engagements and appointments includes ethical conduct and integrity – we screen all of our law firm relationships through that.’

For more, see:

Line to the top: more GCs than ever now reporting directly to their CEO, research finds

‘It’s always best to avoid death by a thousand cuts’ – what GCs think about the Brad Karp-Epstein firestorm

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Paul Hastings London revenue soars 25% as aggressive recruitment drives growth

Paul Hastings’ London revenue soared by 25% in 2025, making the office a standout performer in a year in which the firm’s far-reaching lateral hiring strategy helped drive global revenues up by 20% to a new high of $2.68bn.

The US firm, which has set out ambitious plans to build its presence in London, saw City revenue reach $272.4m for the financial year ending 31 January. The performance means London now contributes more than 10% of the firm’s global turnover.

New York revenues hit $1.1bn and have now doubled over the last three years.

The firm has yet to confirm profit per equity partner, but its profit per unit climbed by 21% to just over $653,000.

Firm chair Frank Lopez said: ‘2025 was a phenomenal year. We’ve been successful in all of our markets and our unit value, which is the most important financial metric for our partners, is up 117% in five years.’

Lopez highlighted London, New York and Texas as particularly strong-performing regions for the firm, with Texas now contributing 6%-7% of firmwide revenue.

By practice, he highlighted transactional practices like finance and M&A, saying: ‘All of our practices did well and 16 of our 17 practices had double-digit growth but, for the first time in five years, our transactional practices particularly drove our results last year. Finance, M&A and capital markets were all a big jump for us last year.’

Commenting on the performance in London, he said: ‘London is an anchor for us. It has been extraordinary. We’ve almost doubled our revenue in two years and our strategy is to build a premier office on the ground there.’

Paul Hastings has made 10 lateral hires in London in just six months, including this week’s hire of Slaughter and May corporate partner Mark Zerdin and last week’s addition of private capital partner Ferish Patel from Cooley.

However, the firm has also seen a number of high-profile partner exits, including high yield and restructuring partners Patrick Bright and Will Needham, who are set to depart for Sullivan & Cromwell, and a three-partner private equity team led by Anu Balasubramanian, which left for Goodwin in December.

Going forward, Lopez said the firm would look to its European offices in France, Germany and Brussels to drive growth over the next five years.

With the lateral hiring forming a key plank of its strategy, Lopez said the firm’s financial performance was crucial to its success in attracting talent: ‘We focus on our financial success because we want to be able to execute on our strategy. Reputational elevation is important.’

For more, see ‘You have to keep swinging’ – Paul Hastings leaders on building London and cracking the global elite

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Proskauer London revenue surges 45% as firmwide PEP hits record $5m

Proskauer increased its revenue by nearly 14% over the last year, with London revenue up more than 45%.

Firmwide turnover hit $1.58bn, up from $1.39bn last year, while the firm’s City office leapt forward to $226.8m, up 45% year on year and 77% over the last two years.

Meanwhile, profit per equity partner (PEP) also saw strong performance, with the firm riding a 13% increase to a total of $5.02m, crossing the $5m mark for the first time.

Revenue per lawyer (RPL) was also up, increasing just under 6% to $1.91m, while net income grew by 9.5% to $707.8m.

Proskauer achieved this increase to RPL despite a 7.5% rise in total headcount. However, PEP was boosted by a slight decline in equity partner numbers, which dropped by just under 3% to 141, as non-equity partner headcount was up 10%.

The results build on strong performance last year, when revenue increased by 13% and PEP by nearly 24%, after very slight dips to both turnover and PEP in 2023, as recorded in 2024’s Global 100 table.

The firm expanded in the US last year, including with a new office opening in Charlotte, North Carolina, launched in the autumn with the hire of a four-partner finance team from Cadwalader led by Ron Lovelace, who now leads the office, and was joined this January by litigator Jonathan Watkins.

Meanwhile in London, Proskauer has significantly boosted its finance offering since it hired A&O Shearman banking heavyweight Philip Bowden in summer 2024.

Since then, the firm has made a major play to build out the European arm of its finance offering, including with a successful push into high yield work that saw the London office go from having never advised on a high yield deal to advising on more than ten in 2025.

The firm has continued to grow in Europe into 2026, including earlier this month with a three-partner PE hire in Paris from Cadwalader’s prospective merger partner Hogan Lovells.

[email protected]

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Paul Hastings hires London M&A partner from Slaughter and May

Paul Hastings has added a second corporate partner within a week as the firm seeks to build out its London M&A offering. Mark Zerdin is joining the firm from Slaughter and May, where he co-led the firm’s sports practice and led the Latin American practice.

Zerdin, who spent 23 years at the elite UK firm, brings experience advising sports teams, corporates and private equity firms on public takeovers, private acquisitions and disposals, PE investment, and joint ventures.

During his time at Slaughters, Zerdin’s clients included Liverpool Football Club, TWG Motorsports and General Motors, Ladbrokes, and investors and potential investors in a range of Premier League and Championship clubs.

He was also on the team that advised the Premier League on a range of matters relating to the Associated Party Transaction rules, with a dispute with Manchester City settling last September.

The hire marks the tenth into Paul Hastings’ London office in the last six months, including most recently PE partner Ferish Patel, who joined from Cooley last week.

Earlier this month, Paul Hastings also hired funds lawyer David Richardson from Simpson Thacher, in a move that saw Richardson make partner as the firm built on the arrival of fund finance partner Jennifer Passange, who joined from Haynes Boone last year.

However, the firm has also seen at least as many departures over the same period, including the exit to Goodwin last December of a three-partner PE team led by Legal 500 mid-market private equity Hall of Famer Anu Balasubramanian.

Last week, Sullivan & Cromwell hired two practice heads from Paul Hastings, bringing over Will Needham, chair of the firm’s European restructuring practice, and Patrick Bright, chair of its high-yield financing practice.

Despite this, the London office has seen significant growth, with revenue growing by 20% year-on-year and 100% over three years.

Commenting on Zerdin’s departure, Slaughter and May said in a statement: ‘We confirm that Mark is retiring from the partnership and we wish him well.’

[email protected]

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Latham returns to Wachtell for two-partner finance and M&A hire

Latham & Watkins has hired a pair of partners into its New York office from Wachtell, bringing its total number of hires from the Wall Street firm over the last year to four.

The West Coast-bred firm has hired Emily Johnson into its banking and private credit and capital markets practices, and Mark Stagliano into its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice.

Johnson, a Legal 500 next-generation partner for commercial lending in the US, advises public companies, corporate borrowers, and strategic acquirers on the financing aspects of a wide range of transactions, from strategic M&A and carve-outs to liability management exercises, distressed acquisitions, and restructurings.

She made partner at Wachtell in 2019 after joining as an associate in 2010.

Stagliano joins Latham after more than 14 years at Wachtell, where he made partner in 2020. His practice focuses on public company and sponsor-side M&A, as well as securities matters and corporate governance.

‘Emily and Mark are among a select group of highly experienced and incredibly talented practitioners, and we are delighted to welcome them to our firm,’ said Latham chair and managing partner Rich Trobman.

‘Their market-leading practices directly support our strategic focus to advise our clients on complex transactions across the capital structure and high-profile public company M&A.’

The hires follow the additions of M&A partner Zach Podolsky, a top dealmaker who left Wachtell for Latham last June, and John Sobolewski, who joined Latham last February as global head of liability management.

With an all-equity partnership of only 86 in last year’s Global 100, and profit per equity partner (PEP) of over $9m – second only to Kirkland & Elis – Wachtell rarely sees lateral departures.

However, this has begun to shift, with additional recent departures including M&A partner Alison Preiss, who left for Simpson Thacher last month, and Viktor Sapezhnikov, who joined DLA Piper in November as chair of public company M&A and activism.

Wachtell is also one of a shrinking number of firms that still employs a traditional lockstep compensation model, with partners rewarded based on seniority rather than billings. This means that rival firms, which do not tie compensation to length of tenure, can lure partners with offers of higher pay.

Both Latham and Wachtell are top firms for M&A, with both appearing in LSEG’s list of top principal advisers by global deal value for 2025, in second and third place respectively.

Both firms are also involved in one of the biggest ongoing M&A stories of recent months, with Latham advising Paramount on its $108bn hostile bid to acquire Warner Bros, and Wachtell advising Warner Bros on its negotiations around Paramount’s bid and the competing offer from Netflix.

Latham has also made two notable team hires in Europe in recent months, hiring a four-partner PE and M&A team from Freshfields in Germany in December, and a further four partners focused on energy and infrastructure PE from Clifford Chance in Paris earlier this month.

Commenting on her move, Johnson said: ‘Latham is well-known for excellence across financial products, industries, and jurisdictions, and I am delighted to join the firm and contribute to its long-term growth.’

Stagliano said: ‘Latham is a transactional powerhouse that is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the increased activity in public M&A. I am delighted to join the firm’s all-star team, and excited to be part of Latham’s ongoing success and growth in New York and beyond.’

[email protected]

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Revolving Doors: Hogan Lovells continues Milan expansion and McDermott hires from K&E in Paris

Hogan Lovells has hired Legal 500 Hall of Famer for administrative and public law Luca Perfetti as the firm continues to strengthen in Milan. Perfetti is well regarded for his work in highly regulated sectors as well as infrastructure and public procurement.

Perfetti, who has moved with three associates and a trainee, joins from Italian firm BonelliErede and moves into the firm’s global regulatory and IP practice. He is the 16th partner that Hogan Lovells has added to its Italian practice in the last two years.

‘Luca’s arrival confirms our continued investment in Italy and further strengthens our regulatory and public law offering,’ said the firm’s Italian head Patrizio Messina.

Meanwhile, restructuring partner Astrid Zourli has left Hogan Lovells to join Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier in Paris, where she will lead the firm’s restructuring practice. Zourli, who leads on complex out-of-court domestic and cross-border processes, spent six years at Hogan Lovells, having made partner in 2022. He joined the Chicago firm’s Paris outpost as a partner in 2022.

Elsewhere in Paris, McDermott Will & Schulte has hired debt finance and PE partner Kalish Mullen from Kirkland & Ellis. Mullen is a Legal 500 next generation partner whose practice is focused on acquisition, fund and debt finance, as well as restructurings. 

In Riyadh, Nezar Al-Abbas has joined Ashurst as a partner in the firm’s projects and energy transition team after nearly six years at White & Case, where he was a local partner since being made up in 2024.

Heading to the City, Macfarlanes hired tax disputes partner Kate Ison from BCLP where she has been a partner since 2018 after joining in 2009.

Pinsent Masons has strengthened its international arbitration offering as Cem Kalelioglu joins the firm as a partner after an eight-year stint at WilmerHale where he reached the position of counsel.

Keystone Law has also bolstered its international arbitration bench with a double partner hire from Clyde & Co. Ian Hopkinson and Milena Szuniewicz-Wenzel both make the move across, with the former having started at Clydes as a legal assistant in 2007. The moves come a week after Clyde’s international arbitration chair Ben Knowles also decamped to Keystone.

Michelmores has opened a new office in Cambridge following a three-partner raid from Broadfield. Real estate partners Simon Burson and Tim Middleton alongside corporate partner Duncan Walker, who have been at Broadfield for nine, five and eight years respectively, will establish the new office.

Finally, regional firm Gardner Leader has hired employment lawyer Michelle Morgan as a partner in its Newbury office. She was most recently an associate director at BCLP.

[email protected]

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Beyond black swans – Porsche Ibérica GC Teresa Minguez on why boards need a legal mind at the table

After more than a decade at CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo, Teresa Minguez moved in-house to become general counsel and compliance officer at Porsche Ibérica. Combined with her governance roles at the Ilustre Colegio de la Abogacía de Madrid and ACC Europe, this gives her a unique lens on Europe’s structural volatility – and on why integrating legal judgement into board decision-making is a governance imperative

European organisations are facing unprecedented instability. How is this changing the role of the legal function in supporting boards and governance?

Volatility is no longer an episodic disruption for European organisations. It has become a structural condition. Geopolitical fragmentation, regulatory divergence across jurisdictions, supply-chain exposure, technological dependence and reputational risk now intersect in ways that defy linear planning and traditional risk frameworks.

What were once labelled ‘Black Swan’ events, rare, unpredictable, high-impact shocks, have become recurrent. For boards, the critical question is no longer whether the next crisis will emerge, but whether governance structures are equipped to operate when precedent, models and even regulation provide only partial guidance.

In this environment, legal judgement is no longer a supporting function. It is a core governance capability.

If disruption is now constant rather than episodic, what does that mean for how boards assess and manage risk? How does the legal function contribute to that process?

Boards increasingly face situations where legal permissibility does not equate to organisational legitimacy. Sanctions regimes, ESG-related scrutiny, divergent national enforcement practices and shifting societal expectations often place organisations in scenarios where the law answers, ‘Can we?,’ but not ‘Should we?,’ nor ‘What will this mean for your credibility across markets and stakeholders?’

This gap between legality and legitimacy is particularly acute in Europe, where organisations operate across multiple jurisdictions and under heightened scrutiny from regulators, investors, employees and civil society. Navigating these tensions requires more than technical compliance. It requires governance judgement.

European corporate governance has traditionally been grounded in compliance and regulatory certainty. As that is no longer sufficient, what does it require from legal leaders today?

The role of the general counsel has evolved decisively in recent years. European general counsels operate at the intersection of law, strategy and institutional integrity, with a panoramic view of regulatory risk, stakeholder expectations and long-term value.

At board level, this perspective is indispensable. In moments of disruption, the general counsel’s contribution extends far beyond legal analysis. It involves structuring complex information for decision-makers, clarifying cross-border implications, and helping boards understand not only the immediate legal exposure, but the longer-term institutional consequences of their choices.

This dual focus, immediate decision-making and future accountability, mirrors the fiduciary responsibilities of the board itself. It is precisely why legal insight belongs at the centre of board deliberations, not at the periphery.

How is this environment changing the role of the general counsel at board level when the rulebooks don’t provide clear answers?

The most difficult decisions rarely arise in areas of clear prohibition. They emerge in grey zones, where EU and national frameworks are evolving, fragmented or silent, and where expectations are shaped as much by societal norms as by formal obligations.

In these circumstances, ethics should not be treated as an abstract moral overlay, nor as a subset of compliance. Ethics function as a governance tool: they protect the organisation’s licence to operate and preserve trust across diverse European stakeholder landscapes.

In this context, boards increasingly rely on the general counsel to articulate not only legal risk, but also the ethical, reputational and institutional dimensions of strategic decisions. The quality of this guidance often determines whether an organisation navigates crisis with its credibility intact or emerges fundamentally weakened.

Transparency, consistency and principled reasoning brought to the table by in-house counsel become strategic assets. They enable boards to take defensible decisions even when outcomes are contested.

You describe legal governance as a driver of resilience. How can organisations embed this more effectively into their structures?

Resilient European organisations are not defined by their ability to avoid disruption, but by their capacity to absorb shocks without compromising values or strategic direction. This resilience is built through governance structures that encourage informed challenge, cross-functional dialogue and clear accountability at board level.

Legal insight plays a central role in this architecture. Properly embedded, it acts as an integrative force, connecting risk management, compliance, finance and strategy, and ensuring that decisions are assessed through a long-term, institutional lens.

Equally important is learning. Each crisis exposes weaknesses in governance and decision-making. Capturing these lessons and embedding them into board processes is essential to strengthening resilience over time.

Looking ahead, what will effective board leadership in Europe require as uncertainty becomes permanent. What role should legal expertise play within it?

As uncertainty becomes a permanent feature of the European business environment, the distinction between legal leadership and governance leadership continues to narrow. Boards need voices that are comfortable operating without complete information, that understand fiduciary responsibility in its broadest sense, and that can weigh legal, ethical and strategic considerations with equal rigour.

In this context, legal expertise is not an auxiliary function of the board. It is foundational. The general counsels brings judgement, institutional memory and a long-term perspective that no predictive model can replace.

When the next ‘Black Swan’ arrives, and it will, European boards will be defined not by the sophistication of their forecasts, but by the quality of their governance. Ensuring that legal minds have a seat at the table is no longer optional. It is a governance imperative.

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Lazada Group GC Loh Bee Kee on legal leadership in a shifting world

Loh Bee Kee, the Singapore-based GC at e-commerce giant Lazada, talks strategy shifts, perception risk and why legal ops are central to building a future-ready team 

First of all, what led to your current role as GC of Lazada? 

I started out as a litigator. Eventually, wanting to be in the room when the decision is made, rather than be the one who cleans up the “mess” after the dispute has occurred, I decided to become an in-house counsel. My early years in Lazada were spent building many things from scratch as the company and the e-commerce industry were still nascent. Now that both Lazada and the e-commerce industry have matured considerably, my role as General Counsel has shifted the focus to risk management and scaling the team’s operations. 

You’ve mentioned before that change is constant in a tech business. What’s been keeping you and your team busiest recently?

Constant change is integral to a tech company. As part of Lazada’s constant innovation, the legal team supported a multi-year shift in the commercial strategy, which involved rethinking how products, product reviews, recommendations and sales channels were presented on the platform. 

What did that mean in practice for the legal team? 

A couple of years ago, we also trialled a new “Choice” product funnel, which integrates supply chain and store management into the existing e-commerce platform offering. This required the team to have broader expertise of the entire lifecycle of a product on our platform, including sourcing, promotion, sale and logistics. 

 So it’s not just about transactions or compliance — it’s about understanding the full commercial journey? 

Exactly. The team needs to understand the entire product lifecycle in order to properly support innovation at scale. 

When things are uncertain — whether internally or externally — how does your role change? 

When things are in flux, it is important to be very clear about what remain the priorities and what are distractions. It is especially important that I, as well as the senior leaders in my team, help the management and other decision-makers to identify what the core issues are through the noise of uncertainty. 

 How do you keep your own team steady during that kind of environment? 

Constant communication within the team helps the members to process what they are seeing and feeling about what’s going on in the organisation, and also to bring focus back to their core duties. 

Is that more about legal judgement — or leadership? 

It’s both. You need clarity of legal thinking, but you also need to create stability for others. 

We can’t ignore the geopolitical backdrop at the moment. How much does that factor into your day-to-day risk assessment? 

While Lazada, being in Southeast Asia, is not directly in the line of fire between the West and China, we are seeing increased impact of the geopolitical tension on our business decisions. As Lazada is part of the Alibaba Group, we are extremely mindful of how our actions may be perceived as actions of our parent group, and by extension, of a “Chinese business.”

So perception risk is now part of legal risk? 

Particularly when we deal with government agencies and regulators in our region, we have recently included in our decision-making an assessment of how our actions may be perceived by the local governments and the public. We also now engage more closely with our government affairs team to jointly assess the potential impact of all major decisions. 

Has that changed how early legal gets involved? 

It reinforces the importance of legal and government affairs being involved at the earliest stage of strategic decisions. 

Outside of the day-to-day demands of the role, what’s something you feel particularly strongly about? 

I am a loud advocate of better legal operations and technology in the legal team’s work. To me, the continuity and strength of a legal team do not solely rely on the team’s ability to recruit and retain well. The team needs to be able to build on the organisation’s knowledge and lessons learned, and be able to transform these into tools that can preserve the team’s efficiency and continuity — even during periods of instability in the workforce or work capacity. 

When you talk about legal operations, what does that mean in practice? 

My focus on legal operations is not just adopting or developing shiny new tools. Instead, I have dedicated resources at both Lazada and Alibaba International level to examine how the team is working, identify where we are spending more time or effort than ought to be required on a task, execute (big or small) improvements to processes and tools to improve those inefficiencies, and to leverage latest technology to develop new tools to guide decision-making and daily operations. 

So it’s really about building institutional resilience?

Exactly. It’s about making the legal function stronger than any one individual. 

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Trowers takes high-profile restructuring role as Mandelson-founded advisory firm collapses

Trowers & Hamlins has won a high-profile restructuring role on the administration of Global Counsel, the advisory firm co-founded by Lord Peter Mandelson.

The news comes after weeks of intense scrutiny over Mandelson’s historic connections to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with Global Counsel subsequently losing a succession of major clients.

Interpath – the restructuring business spun out of KPMG in 2021 – was officially appointed as administrators to Global Counsel today (20 February), with Trowers acting as legal adviser to Interpath.

In a statement, Interpath said: ‘In the wake of ongoing public scrutiny of the company’s co-founder Peter Mandelson, a number of the company’s clients have recently cut ties with the firm. The significant financial impact of this on the business has left the directors with no option but to seek the appointment of administrators. The business has ceased to trade whilst the administrators consider their options.’

Interpath UK CEO Will Wright and managing director Steve Absolom are acting as joint administrators.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Global Counsel – which was founded in 2010 – said: ‘After an exhaustive review of the options available to the company, the board of Global Counsel has decided to ask the UK courts to appoint Interpath as an administrator to take control of and realise the assets of the company’.

Mandelson stepped down from Global Counsel’s executive board last year, and in early February this year the company announced the complete divestment of his shares and the resignation of the co-founder and CEO, Benjamin Wegg-Prosser.

However, despite this, the company said that Mandelson’s role as a co-founder and his conduct had ‘indelibly coloured the way Global Counsel is seen in the outside world.’

Mandelson is also reportedly being advised by Mishcon de Reya, following the news the Metropolitan Police have launched a criminal investigation into the former Labour minister over allegations of misconduct in public office. He denies any wrongdoing. Mishcon declined to comment.

Mandelson was dismissed as ambassador to the US last September 2025 after emails revealed continued contact with Epstein following his conviction for sex offences.

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Norton Rose Fulbright hits $2m in PEP as turnover approaches $3bn

Norton Rose Fulbright notched double-digit increases in both revenue and PEP in 2025, with the firm seeing a strong financial performance in the US and globally.

The firm boosted its global turnover by more than 16%, closing in on the $3bn mark with $2.8bn in total.

Profit per equity partner (PEP), meanwhile, soared by 27% to hit $2m, with revenue per lawyer (RPL) climbing by nearly 14% to $824,000 globally.

Equity partner headcount also grew slightly over the year, edging up 1.3%, while a three percentage point increase took the firm’s profit margin to 38%.

The firm’s US operations outpaced the rest of the business, with revenue there growing by more than 23%, to $1.2bn, and PEP surging by 32% to $2.7m.

The US also outperformed on RPL, which increased by more than 16% to $1.4m, even as headcount across the firm’s 12 US offices grew by nearly 5%.

NRF, which operates under a Swiss verein structure, merged its EMEA and APAC businesses in 2025, with EMEAPAC now accounting for 41% of its global revenue, at $1.1bn.

The firm now consists of three business units and profit pools across EMEAPAC, Canada and the US.

Norton Rose’s Canada offices represent the smallest of its operations, contributing 18% to its overall revenue in 2025.

Peter Scott, global managing partner for EMEAPAC said: ‘We enjoyed an exceptional year across the board with strong performances on both the transactional and disputes side.’

He continued: ‘This universal uptick across our practices was helped by a rise in cross-border work, particularly with more complex and longer-running mandates involving lawyers from several of our offices around the world.’

In January, Scott was reelected as managing partner for the EMEAPAC region for his third consecutive three-year term.

Meanwhile Farmida Bi, chair of EMEAPAC at Norton Rose, was granted a peerage this year by Prime Minister Keir Starmer for her services to law and charity.

The firm announced last year that it was withdrawing from South Africa, with its three offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban spinning off from the Norton Rose Fulbright verein by 31 March this year.

[email protected]

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‘You have to keep swinging’ – Paul Hastings leaders on building London and cracking the global elite

The leaders of Paul Hastings are unapologetically bullish about the firm’s ambitious plans on both sides of the Atlantic, and it’s going to take more than a few partner departures to deter them.

So far this week, the firm has made two new partner hires in London, taking its tally to more than a dozen globally since the start of 2026, and it has more on the way.

‘We’re just scratching the surface of where we can go in London,’ the firm’s chair Frank Lopez tells Legal Business in an interview before the latest hires were announced. ‘We want it to be our clear number two office, after New York.’

Lopez views the two cities as the twin hubs in Paul Hastings’ global footprint. This week’s London hires take the total number of UK laterals to nine in six months but Lopez has more in the works. M&A, where Paul Hastings has added 25 partners globally over two years, and private equity are particularly earmarked for growth.

‘We think about both offices as the anchors of our global footprint – the two financial hubs of the world,’ says Lopez. ‘Everything we’ve done there over the last few years has been consistent. We build in New York, then we build in London.’

The numbers

Looking at headcount, the numbers speak for themselves in terms of ambition. New York has grown from around 290 lawyers to more than 500 in just over two years, while London has expanded from 140 to almost 200.

Revenue has climbed in tandem, with London fee income projected to be up by more than 20% to $260m for 2025 – double what it was three years ago. London now brings in roughly 10% of the firm’s global revenue, which also rose by 20% to $2.68bn last year.

While the firm has a long way to go until it nears the size of a Latham & Watkins or Kirkland & Ellis in the City, its 2025 London revenue alone would be enough to place it comfortably within the top half of the LB 100 – Legal Business’s ranking of the biggest UK firms by their global revenue – not far behind Travers Smith. It currently sits within the top 30 by global revenue, but wants to improve on this, and expects London to play a big part in this growth.

As Lopez explains: ‘The growth rate in London has been extraordinary, but all our practices there are in stage 2-5 of a 10-stage lifecycle. So, although it’s been a fun ride to get where we are, our goals are to get that office from $250m to $500m over three or four years.’

Aggressive recruitment

The Bishopsgate office now houses around 14 of the firm’s key practices, with its aggressive recruitment drive bringing in roughly 30 partners in the City over the last three years.

In contrast to many US rivals, Lopez and global managing partner Sherrese Smith – who are based in New York and Washington DC respectively – are front and centre of the recruitment drive both in London and globally.

The pair have built a reputation for taking the lead in conversations with potential laterals and for being willing to pay top-of-market rates to secure the right talent.

Anecdotally, the vision Lopez presents is frequently referenced by new hires as a key driver behind their moves. And, speaking to him and Smith, it’s apparent that their time commitment to the recruitment process can be as significant as the financial promises they make.

‘Our outreach starts with those who are the right fit and talent for our growth plans,’ says Smith. ‘Whatever will be the most impactful contact, we’ll do that, but typically the outreach starts with us. We bring in people whose skillset and relationships enable exponential growth for both them and our platform, to help us continue building and gaining market share.’

‘The common denominator that we’re looking for from every lateral joining us is that they are a builder’

‘We know exactly what our strategy is, exactly which practice and which geography we want to grow in. Then it’s about whether we’re able to identify the people we believe fit the profile to help us gain market share,’ adds Lopez. ‘If we can’t get those people, we’re not going to the next 10 – it’s about getting the right people to immediately make an impact.’

To maintain momentum, they say they look for laterals who are motivated to build something new, arguing that the firm’s relative immaturity in markets like London means it is better able than most to offer this opportunity.

‘The common denominator that we’re looking for from every lateral joining us is that they are a builder,’ stresses Lopez. ‘There isn’t really a push factor from their firms, so the pull factor becomes whether they’re excited about building a personal legacy, a practice legacy, a firm legacy.’

Smith adds: ‘If someone does not have to leave their firm, they’re only going to look elsewhere if they see an opportunity. That’s an opportunity for their own growth and an opportunity to be impactful on our platform. So it’s us saying here are the opportunities for you and the opportunities for us. Providing that information and showing how it plays on both sides.’

Turnover and exits

As evidenced by last week’s news that high yield and restructuring partners Patrick Bright and Will Needham are set to depart for Sullivan & Cromwell, Lopez and Smith acknowledge that growth has not always been linear, with some offices, including London, shrinking at times amid partner exits.

Questions have long been raised about how fast the firm’s door has been revolving in both directions, with other high-profile departures in London include a three-partner private equity team led by Anu Balasubramanian leaving for Goodwin in December, while infrastructure partners Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson left for Freshfields roughly a year ago, having joined in February 2023.

’Sometimes when you’re building offices you have a bit of a reset and things can get smaller – London was like that a few years ago, it was a bit stale,’ admits Lopez. ‘But now, we’ve created a renaissance and we have a lot of momentum,’ he insists.

The firm has faced criticism that, as it seeks to grow its market position and revenues, it has been quick to move partners on, with rivals suggesting the desire to bring in those who can ‘immediately make an impact’ may mean that in addition to losses the firm would rather not see, it has also been quick to move other partners on.

It’s an argument Lopez and Smith deny. They maintain performance is assessed on strategic fit rather than speed of return but are open about their deliberate plans to improve the quality of all of the firm’s offices and teams.

‘We’ve created a renaissance and we have a lot of momentum’

Notably, after Gallagher and Rowson left last year, the firm responded by taking on an eight-partner infrastructure team from White & Case, spanning offices from London to Paris and Abu Dhabi. Rowson and Gallagher had themselves succeeded a team which moved to DLA Piper.

Speaking openly about the firm’s lateral process, Lopez insists that the overall success rate is very high.

‘Our lateral strategy is an introspective exercise where we think there is pent-up demand in our client base and that the attraction of premier talent in a specific practice area or geography will provide exponential growth,’ he explains.

‘That does not mean that there won’t be occasional misalignments, but I think those are rare cases and our hit rate is very high, with over 90% meeting or exceeding expectations,’ he adds. ‘Our job is to do everything possible to maximise the probability of success for laterals, which becomes a lot easier with high-calibre additions that meet the profile for our strategy and culture.’

Driving towards the global elite

Both Smith and Lopez are clear and undaunted in their ambition: to move Paul Hastings further up the ranks of the global elite and gain market share. Speaking to them, it’s equally clear that lateral recruitment will continue to play a key part in realising this goal.

‘There are eight to 10 global elite firms that are pulling away,’ says Lopez. ‘They are of a size that enables them to take more and more market share. We’re grateful to be part of that group, but now it’s important to make relative progress within it.’

‘We want to be the most profitable firm in the world; tier one in every practice. It’s not about just getting bigger – everything we do is about getting stronger and better and constantly elevating our reputation.’

They are equally clear that this means paying close attention to the performance of individual practices and offices.

‘We manage our firm almost like an asset manager,’ says Lopez. ‘We think of our practices and our geographic footprint as a portfolio, and we’re constantly tweaking based on where each location and practice is in its life cycle.’

‘We manage our firm almost like an asset manager’

By taking this approach, they believe the firm is well-positioned to keep pace as consolidation accelerates across the legal market, with Hogan Lovells, Winston & Strawn and Perkins Coie among the firms announcing merger plans in recent months.

‘There are firms today that would be Fortune 300 companies. It’s interesting that law has created this idea that it’s mutually exclusive to run a great business and have a nice culture. We are serious about having a team approach and collaboration as a business strategy. I think it can be liberating to be in a place that’s embracing the fact it’s a business,’ Lopez concludes.

As a result, the pair have no plans to rethink their strategy of using lateral hiring to drive growth.

‘We have people who are excited about the future and want to help us build. We believe we’re in a unique position compared to our competitors at the top because we have a generation of playing offence,’ insists Lopez. ‘If you look at our portfolio of laterals, they have unquestionably been huge drivers of our financial success, and the partnership knows that.

‘We don’t live in fear – you have to keep swinging,’ he concludes. ‘If you don’t take the shot, you’re never going to score.’

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Trading Places: Paul Weiss and Latham tap senior government talent

Paul Weiss has added a former federal prosecutor to its litigation practice in New York.

Antonia Apps joins following a career spanning both private and public practice. She served seven years at the Department of Justice (DOJ) as an assistant US attorney in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Unit until 2014, before becoming a litigation partner at Milbank in New York, advising clients such as BlackRock and Infinity Q Capital Management on internal investigations, regulatory enforcement proceedings and commercial litigation.

In 2023, Apps returned to government, joining the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she served as regional director of the New York office before becoming acting deputy director of the nationwide Enforcement Division and then deputy director of enforcement, overseeing enorcement across New York, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Jessica Carey, co-head of Paul Weiss’s litigation department, said: ‘[Antonia] combines first-chair trial experience, sophisticated regulatory insight, and the strategic judgment clients rely on in their most consequential matters. She will be a fantastic addition to Paul Weiss.’

Latham & Watkins has also looked to government for its latest hire, with the addition of former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Geoffrey Starks as a partner in its connectivity, privacy and information practice in Washington DC.

Starks served at the regulatory agency from 2019 until earlier this year, leading enforcement efforts and overseeing national initiatives across broadband, broadcasting, cyber security and artificial intelligence.

He previously served as senior counsel to the US deputy attorney general at the DOJ.

Matthew Brill, chair of the firm’s connectivity, privacy and information practice, said: ‘Geoffrey’s deep experience and strategic insight position him to deliver exceptional value to clients navigating the complex intersection of communications policy, transactions, and high-stakes disputes. We are thrilled to welcome him to our team.’

Also in Washington DC, Orrick has hired prominent nuclear energy partner Amy Roma. She joins after 18 years at Hogan Lovells, where she led the global energy practice.

Roma advises reactor and fusion developers, fuel suppliers and investors on regulatory, transactional, and strategic matters, specialising in the integration of nuclear energy with AI data centres, industrial and pharmaceutical facilities, and emerging space and maritime applications.

Orrick chair Mitch Zuklie said: ‘Orrick has been at the center of this growing ecosystem for the past decade, and with the addition of Amy, we now offer holistic solutions to help all types of market participants scale nuclear technologies and projects.’

Back in New York, Linklaters has appointed a new chief operating officer of its Americas business, as the magic circle firm continues its push into the US.

Maria Zaino joins from A&O Shearman, where she spent 22 years at legacy Shearman & Sterling in roles including global business director for corporate and M&A between 2016 and 2024. At the merged firm, she served as executive adviser to US management and COO.

At Linklaters, Zaino will reunite with George Casey, former global managing partner at Shearman, who moved to Linklaters in January 2024 after nearly three decades at Shearman, and was appointed Linklaters’ first chairman of the Americas last June.

A&O Shearman has seen a number of departures since the merger between legacy Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling was announced in May 2023, with more than 170 partner exits as of last October.

Also in New York, Arnold & Porter has hired capital markets partner Chris DeCresce from Freshfields.

DeCresce served as a corporate partner in Freshfields’ securities and capital markets and financial services practice for one year, following just under three years as vice chair of the same practice at Paul Hastings.

This week also saw Paul Hastings hire four further lawyers in Charlotte, building out the fund finance team that launched the firm’s North Carolina office earlier this month.

The latest additions bring across Olivia Stewart and Brian Kettmer from Cadwalader, who re-join fellow Cadwalader partner Danyeale Chung. Stewart spent two years at Cadwalader, becoming special counsel in January, while Kettmer was at the firm for seven years as an attorney.

The Charlotte office will also see the addition of two of counsels, bringing over Matt Downer from Mayer Brown and Meghan O’Reilly from Haynes Boone. They join the previously announced Haynes Boone trio of Holly Loftis, Aleksandra Kopec and Mark Nesdill.

On the West Coast, McGuireWoods bolstered its private equity bench with the hire of private equity partner Zachary Shub-Essig in Los Angeles.

Shub-Essig joins following a string of associate and senior associate roles at legacy Shearman & Sterling, Hogan Lovells, and most recently Sidley Austin, where he become counsel in January 2025.

His arrival follows recent expansion at the firm, with the addition last august of Shahrooz Shahnavaz, who joined the LA office as co-head of the tax practice group from Loeb & Loeb, and the launch of the firm’s Seattle office last week with an 8-partner hire from Perkins Coie.

Ballard Spahr has hired a five-partner class action team from Cleveland-headquartered US national firm Benesch to launch in San Fransisco.

The team will be led by Stephanie Sheridan, who will also head up its retail and e-commerce industry team, and Meegan Brooks. Joining them are Jason Hamilton, who will also work out of the LA office, Christopher Stretch and Whitney Miner.

The firm however suffered losses to Barnes & Thornburg, which hired 35 lawyers, including 25 partners, for its public finance and infrastructure team.

They will join across 10 offices, including new launches in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix.

The additions bring Barnes & Thornburg’s practice headcount firmwide to 56. Incumbent partner Valarie Allen will join current partner Kimberly Blanche as practice co-vice chair, and new hires John Smolen and Steve Park will lead the infrastructure practice.

Also joining are partners William Rhodes and Kimberly Magrini in Philadelphia; Jeffrey Ballard, Andrew Spicknall, Charles Treece and Daniel Nunez in Washington, DC; Peter Lam in New York; Silvia Shin and Emilie Ninan in Wilmington; and Teri Guarnaccia, Anastasia Khokhryakova and Michele Bax in Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix, respectively.

The group also includes partner Benjamin Johnson, who previously practiced at Barnes & Thornburg and served as co-chair of the charter school and school innovation practice.

Lastly, O’Melveny & Myers has hired executive compensation partner Thomas Asmar into its tax practice in Silicon Valley.

Asmar previously spent six years as a partner at Baker McKenzie, following four years as counsel at Skadden. His practice focuses on advising public and private companies, as well as private equity funds, on all employee benefits and compensation issues arising out of mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, financings and other corporate transactions.

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Simpson Thacher hires Kirkland financial restructuring heavyweight for Dallas launch

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is launching in Dallas with the hire of a heavyweight restructuring partner from Kirkland & Ellis.

David Nemecek, who is highly regarded for his work for distressed companies, will head up a new capital structure solutions practice, which will combine the firm’s liability management team with its restructuring and special situations partners in a single global offering.

Alden Millard, chair of Simpson Thacher’s executive committee, said: ‘Dave is widely regarded as the preeminent architect of modern liability management and is one of the most influential advisers to distressed companies of his generation.’

He added: ‘Over the past decade, companies, sponsors, lenders and creditors have all turned to Dave for his expertise in solving their most difficult capital structure challenges. We are thrilled to welcome him to the firm and are excited about what lies ahead.’

Nemecek’s practice has made headlines in recent months, with the Financial Times last year describing him as ‘the single most powerful adviser to distressed companies.’

However, recent reports have suggested that his practice has come into conflict with the interests of Kirkland’s private capital clients, contributing to his departure after 15 years at the firm.

A spokesperson from Kirkland said in a statement: ‘We thank Dave for his contributions to Kirkland and wish him all the best in the future.’

Commenting on his move, Nemecek said:  ‘Simpson Thacher has one of the world’s premier global legal advisory platforms grounded in excellence, unparalleled client service and deep, long-term relationships.’

He continued: ‘Helping launch its capital structure solutions practice, alongside partners who are both exceptional lawyers and true collaborators, is a rare opportunity, and I am honored to join the team as we focus on providing the best advice to our clients.’

Simpson Thacher is the latest firm to announce plans to open in Dallas since Dechert last month, while Latham & Watkins is widely rumoured to be on the cusp of a Dallas launch after it hired a pair of partners based in the city from Kirkland and Winston & Strawn last week.

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Paul Hastings in London M&A push with hire of Cooley Singapore founding partner

Paul Hastings is building up its London private equity and M&A capabilities with the hire of Ferish Patel from Cooley.

Patel, who is US-qualified, joins Paul Hastings after six-and-a-half years at Cooley. He previously served as partner in charge of the firm’s Singapore office, moving there for its launch in 2020. At Paul Hastings, he will be based in London.

Patel’s practice focuses on cross-border growth equity as well as private capital transactions, and he advises companies and investors on matters ranging from late-stage private financings to IPOs.

At Cooley, he worked with clients across sectors including technology, healthcare, life sciences and digital infrastructure, and notable matters include co-leading the team that advised Singaporean technology company Grab on its 2021 SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth, in a deal that valued Grab at $40bn.

He has also worked with Brookfield Private Equity, also a client of Paul Hastings’, on multiple growth and pre-IPO financings.

Legal Business understands that Patel’s hire is part of a concerted effort from Paul Hastings to grow its buyout and M&A capabilities in the capital, after adding 25 partners to the firm’s  M&A platform globally over the last two years.

Patel is the ninth partner hire Paul Hastings has made in London over the last six months, with the firm also adding Alicia Osei, a tax partner from Macfarlanes, earlier this week.

Osei spent 15 years at Macfarlanes and brings experience on tax matters relating to the structure of private investment funds and investment management businesses.

Earlier this month, Paul Hastings also hired funds lawyer David Richardson from Simpson Thacher, in a move that saw Richardson make partner as the firm built on the arrival of fund finance partner Jennifer Passange, who arrived from Haynes Boone last year.

However, a team of three private equity partners quit the firm for Goodwin in December, including Legal 500 mid-market PE Hall of Famer Anu Balasubramanian, who is set to join Goodwin as chair of European private equity.

Last week, Sullivan & Cromwell hired two practice heads from Paul Hastings, bringing over Will Needham, chair of the firm’s European restructuring practice, and Patrick Bright, chair of its high-yield financing practice.

In London, Paul Hasting’s revenue has grown more than 20% year-on-year and 100% over the last three years.

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In-house moves: Carlsberg GC leaves after 25 years at the helm, with changes at The Sun, Jefferies and more

Long-serving GC at leading Danish brewer Carlsberg Group, Ulrik Andersen (pictured), is leaving his role after 25 years as group GC.

Andersen has spent 28 years in total at Carlsberg, joining in 1998 and becoming GC in 2001. In his time there he saw the group through a number of major strategic acquisitions, including its acquisition of British soft drinks producer Britvic, which completed last year for £3.3bn.

Before joining Carlsberg, Andersen spent time at a range of firms, most recently at leading Danish firm Gorrissen Federspiel.

In a post on LinkedIn, Andersen said: ‘Having served as General Counsel for a quarter of a century, it has been a privilege to work with so many talented colleagues and to contribute to Carlsberg’s journey. I feel deeply privileged to have been part of Carlsberg’s journey during defining moments in the company’s history.’

Andersen will remain in his position until a new GC is appointed, which is expected in the second half of 2026.

Back in the UK, former Deliveroo GC Chantelle Zemba has joined Swedish fintech Trustly as global chief legal officer.

Zemba joins the payment services provider after nine years at Deliveroo, having joined in 2016 on secondment from Norton Rose Fulbright, and staying at the popular online food delivery company first as head of corporate and compliance and since 2019 as general counsel.

Jefferies EMEA and APAC GC Daniel Winterfeldt has departed after five years in the position. Before joining the global investment bank, Winterfeldt worked in private practice, including as a partner at Simmons & Simmons, CMS, and Reed Smith.

Alongside his practice, Winterfeldt founded the InterLaw Diversity Forum in 2008, a network that now comprises of over 9,500 members and supporters, dedicated to promoting inclusion in the legal sector.

Elsewhere, the UK’s largest private hospital operator, Circle Health Group announced that Mehdi Erfan has joined the group as general counsel.

Erfan joins after 13 years at Ramsay Health Care, which also provides private hospital and healthcare services. Before that he was head of legal at the Department of Health.

CEO of Circle Health, Paul Manning, said: ‘Mehdi is an exceptional talent, and I am delighted to have him with us for the next chapter of Circle’s story. His wealth of experience, knowledge and insight will prove invaluable, and I look forward to having his support as we look to become more competitive commercially and operationally.’

Adam Cannon, legal director at The Sun, has departed after over six years in the role. Cannon initially joined News UK, the group which owns the title, in 2016 as a senior legal counsel. Before that Cannon was at the Telegraph Media Group and Associated Newspapers.

Oliver Doherty, director of legal (NGN and news broadcasting) at News UK, has taken over leadership of the team, assisted by Enfys Jenkins, who joined News UK as senior legal counsel – editorial (The Sun newspaper) this month, from Simons Muirhead Burton.

Also in the UK, Shawbrook Group‘s long-serving GC Daniel Rushbrook has retired from his position, and has been replaced by deputy GC Sam Foskett.

Rushbrook has served in the top legal role since 2011, and before that worked at Linklaters and Macfarlanes. His departure follows shortly after the group’s IPO in October last year, valued at £1.92bn.

Sam Foskett has taken over leadership of the legal function. Foskett joined the British retail and commercial bank in 2014, and has progressed through a number of legal positions, most recently serving as deputy GC. Before moving in-house he worked in private practice at Travers Smith and CMS.

Further senior legal leadership changes in the UK include the departure of Ian Cokayne from Grant Thornton to join accountancy firm Gravita. Cokayne spent the last 12 years at Grant Thornton, progressing to GC in 2023.

Finally, in the US, video game developer Epic Games has hired Reggie Davis as general counsel. The company is known for creating and distributing games such as Fortnite, Rocket League and Unreal Tournament.

Davis joins the game developer from Qualia Labs, a digital real estate closing platform, where he spent five years as chief legal officer. Davis has previously worked in senior legal positions at DocuSign, Zynga Game Network and Yahoo!.

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From start-up to $75bn valuation: Revolut’s legal chief on a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ role

Tom Hambrett first heard about Revolut while travelling. He had left his job at Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney in 2017, and while in Mexico, interviewed for a role as its first in-house lawyer.

After becoming the two-year-old company’s 23rd employee, he relocated from Australia to London to help build what would become one of the UK’s most successful fintechs.

Now, almost a decade on, he is chief legal officer of a company valued at $75bn.

‘When I joined Revolut, we had less than six months of cash runway, so it was very much a big bet and a risk to jump into something that was unproven, unstructured, and growing quickly – but that also had big ambitions.’

After six years in the corporate team at HSF, focusing on equity capital markets and M&A, Hambrett had already decided he wanted to move in-house. With his sights set on companies in the financial services and technology space, the vacancy at the fast-growing fintech came at just the right time.

‘There was definitely an element of ‘this may not work out’, but it was invigorating and exciting,’ he recalls.

In the years since, the company has gone from strength to strength, becoming a household name, with more than 70 million customers and operations in markets across Europe, America, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Singapore, Japan and New Zealand. Revenues grew by 72% to $4bn in 2024, and at the end of last year, the company completed a share sale valuing it at $75bn.

Hambrett looks back on his achievements at the company with pride. ‘It’s always challenging building anything for the first time – building an in-house legal team from scratch, having never done it before, is going to require a lot of self-development,’ he says. The rewarding thing about doing it from the beginning is that you can design it in a way that fits into the wider organisation.’

And Hambrett has done exactly that; going from having sole responsibility for not only legal but also customer support, sponsorships and marketing, to building a team of nearly 300 lawyers spread across London, Singapore, Japan, India, and Australia, to name a few.

‘There was definitely an element of “this may not work out”, but it was invigorating and exciting’

The combination of excitement, hard work and developing a team is more than enough to keep Hambrett motivated. ‘I love the diverse nature of the problems that I get to solve every day, and I love the colleagues that I get to work with,’ he says. ‘There’s no substitute for that hard work and that feeling that everyone is on the same team, driving towards the same outcome. The power of a single goal is really important.’

These motivators have remained constant throughout Hambrett’s career. He explains that he became ‘hooked’ on the fast-paced corporate environment at HSF, which he joined in 2011, a year before the merger of Australia’s Freehills and UK firm Herbert Smith.

‘My time at HSF was really exciting,’ he recalls. ‘I had access to big-ticket matters and deals with blue-chip clients. It was a fantastic learning experience.’

His time in private practice also equipped him with the fundamentals to succeed. ‘It’s really important to get training at a top-tier firm and to work with the best clients, to understand how they structure their engagements with lawyers, what they want to get out of dealing with those lawyers, what they expect in terms of the advice and the service.’

He stayed with the firm for six years before deciding to go in-house.

‘There is never a dull moment. The privilege of being in this role is that I have the opportunity to always be at the pointy end of the work that we do.’

These days, his time is occupied with the group’s ongoing application for a UK banking licence. While the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) granted the fintech a restricted licence in July 2024, the full licence remains pending after a significant delay.

‘The bank application process is very unique because of the size and the scale of Revolut. It’s a big process; it’s a big application. It involves a lot of interaction and engagement with multiple regulators. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime process – I can’t think of any UK bank with truly global banking ambitions.’

The UK banking licence remains a priority for the group and means that the platform operates under a number of restrictions in the UK at the moment.

‘What I’ve realised is that there are always going to be stressful periods’

While that process continues, the fintech has been busy opening its new global HQ in Canary Wharf, and last year announced plans to invest £3bn in the UK and create 1,000 high-skilled jobs over the next five years.

‘It’s a big commitment, but it’s our biggest market, and it’s our home – it’s where we started. We’ve made a huge investment in the UK with new offices, with our employees, and with future products that we’re looking to roll out throughout the UK or from the UK.’

In addition to his legal role, for the past five years Hambrett has also been one of the twenty partners at the group involved in executing the product strategy.

‘We meet frequently – we all report directly into the CEO and the founder of Revolut,’ he explains. ‘Throughout the year, we run structured sessions ensuring that the long-term product strategy is being executed, ensuring our people initiatives and talent retention programmes are effectively managed, and ensuring that the culture and the values that the partnership is entrusted to uphold and demonstrate through our own conduct and performance are being adhered to. It’s a fantastic opportunity – I’m very privileged to be a part of this.’

Among the highs have been a number of stressful moments. While the ‘incredibly chaotic and unstructured’ early days are long behind him, Hambrett acknowledges that with such a huge and growing operation, it’s hard to avoid the stress that comes with it.

‘What I’ve realised after almost a decade at Revolut is that given the size and scale that we are, and the ambition that we hold, there are always going to be challenges and stressful periods. It’s how you engage with these moments that defines you and your team’s value.’

The high levels of public and media scrutiny that have come over the years have also been a big learning experience for Hambrett.

‘There’s a lot of pressure and stress around the media scrutiny over the company’s financial performance, and the comings and goings of employees or former executives. Revolut is such a big brand, and it’s such an exciting company for people to talk about. So, when you’re in the spotlight, there’s a lot of scrutiny.’

‘It’s not just 9-5. This is all-encompassing, and it requires 100% commitment’

‘It’s always difficult when you receive negative feedback that you don’t want to hear,’ he adds. ‘It’s always hard to process that, and so I remove the emotion, and I look at how I can find something useful from this scrutiny. How can I improve myself and improve the organisation, so that we can actually turn something that’s potentially negative into a learning opportunity.’

And there have been many highs. While financial success and global expansion are undeniable markers of success, Hambrett also finds the development of his team as especially rewarding.

‘We implemented a trainee programme where junior paralegals and qualified lawyers could train with us. They’ve then gone on to roles at impressive firms, like Latham & Watkins, Norton Rose Fulbright and Baker McKenzie, and then come back to us as post-trainee lawyers with a wealth of experience working on a range of matters.’

For those looking to succeed within legal, Hambrett stresses the importance of finding an industry that is both exciting and interesting, and then diving in head-first. ‘It’s not just 9-5. This is all-encompassing, and it requires 100% commitment – and for you to be fully engrossed in what you’re doing.’

[email protected]

Career timeline

2011-17: Solicitor, equity capital markets and M&A department, Herbert Smith Freehills

2017-18: Senior counsel, Revolut

2018-20: Director, Revolut

2020-21: Senior director, Revolut

2021-present: Partner & chief legal officer, Revolut

Revolut: key facts

Size of legal team: 240

External legal spend: £20m

Preferred advisers/panel firms: Latham & Watkins, A&O Shearman, Baker McKenzie, Linklaters, Cravath Swaine & Moore, Davis Polk

2024 revenues: $4bn (£3.1bn)

Employees worldwide: 10,500

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The Epstein files: the Big Law connections

The release of the Epstein files has revealed the huge scale of Jeffrey Epstein’s sprawling network of personal and professional contacts, with lawyers and law firms featuring prominently in much of the communications – many of which reveal relationships that went beyond just legal advice.

While many of the references to law firms are in the context of informal conversations, and inclusion in the files is not an automatic indication of wrongdoing, the files provide rare insight into interactions that would not normally see the light of day.

From favours, gifts, career advice and off-the-books efforts to help Epstein with a range of legal and reputational issues, some of the most notable references to law firms and lawyers are detailed below.

Former Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp

Former Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp, who stepped down from his leadership role following days of headlines scrutinising his connections to Epstein, is mentioned in hundreds of documents within the files.

Karp’s email communications with Epstein paint a picture of a relationship sustained over several years from the mid-2010s up to the months before Epstein’s arrest and death in custody in 2019.

The emails include Karp thanking Epstein in 2015 for a ‘once in a lifetime’ evening, enquiring about work experience for his son with film director Woody Allen in 2016, and mulling an invitation to lunch with Epstein and former Israel prime minister Ehud Barak the same year.

In 2018, Epstein and Karp discussed the shock resignation of Latham & Watkins managing partner Bill Voge, and debated whether Kathy Ruemmler – then a litigation partner at Latham, and herself a contact of Epstein’s – would be suitable as a successor.

And in 2019, Karp (pictured right) reviewed drafts of a letter to the New York Times defending Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, and a court filing that has been widely reported to show Epstein’s legal team arguing against the reopening of the plea deal.

That plea deal had been struck by Epstein in 2008, and saw the financier serve less than 13 months in custody after being convicted of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

‘The draft motion is in great shape,’ Karp wrote on 3 March 2019.

In a statement announcing that he would be succeeded as Paul Weiss chair by M&A partner Scott Barshay, Karp said: ‘Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.’

In an earlier statement, Paul Weiss had specified that Karp met Epstein ‘through his representation of the former chairman and CEO of Apollo Global Management, a significant firm client.’

‘During the course of that representation, which spanned several years, Karp never witnessed or participated in any misconduct. Karp attended two group dinners in New York City and had a small number of social interactions by email, all of which he regrets.’

Goldman Sachs GC and ex-Latham partner Kathy Ruemmler

Another long-term Epstein contact from the world of law is Goldman Sachs general counsel Kathy Ruemmler, a former partner at Latham and head of the firm’s white-collar defence group.

Ruemmler’s departure from Goldman was announced last week after the files revealed extensive communications with Epstein, described by her in emails as ‘wonderful Jeffrey’ and ‘Uncle Jeffrey’.

On Christmas Day 2015, Epstein instructed his assistant Lesley Groff to ‘please organize Kathy’s first class trip to Geneve and wherever,’ and in a subsequent email to Groff, Ruemmler wrote: ‘Jeffrey is just being wonderful Jeffrey.’

Their relationship also appears to have involved gifts, with mentions in the files of flowers delivered to Ruemmler in 2015 and bags from Prada and Hermes bought for her the next year.

This aspect of the relationship also appears to have extended across the duration of their correspondence. In a January 2019 email to Epstein, Ruemmler wrote: ‘Am totally tricked out by Uncle Jeffrey today! Jeffrey boots, handbag, and watch!’

Ruemmler also discussed her career choices with Epstein, again on multiple occasions.

One exchange, dated 30 September 2014, appears to show Ruemmler and Epstein discussing how different political factions viewed Ruemmler. The conversation occurred five days after then-US attorney general Eric Holder resigned from his post.

Ruemmler stepped down as White House counsel that June, and was widely reported to have been a potential candidate to replace Holder before she withdrew from consideration the next month.

These discussions continued after Ruemmler’s (pictured right) return to private practice.

In 2016, she forwarded Epstein an email from Steve Immelt, then chief-executive at Hogan Lovells. Immelt offered a meeting with Michael Davison, then global head of litigation at the firm, and now its deputy CEO.

Ruemmler shifted her conversation with Immelt to the matter of her compensation, and forwarded the email to Epstein.

‘Good,’ Epstein replied, ‘however in writing would be best.’

Ruemmler did not leave Latham until 2020, and was never a partner at Hogan Lovells.

Epstein and Ruemmler appear to have discussed another potential career move for Ruemmler in March 2019, just months before Epstein’s arrest that July.

In an exchange with the subject line ‘goog,’ Epstein sent Ruemmler an email advising her on how to set out her compensation expectations, stating: ‘tell him that google is going to come back with a comp offer, they already offered you the position.’

Ruemmler never worked at Google, according to her LinkedIn. She rejoined Latham after her time at the White House, and stayed there until she moved to Goldman.

The files also show that Ruemmler discussed Epstein’s legal and reputational troubles with him. The day before the 2019 ‘goog’ exchange, Ruemmler emailed Epstein regarding potential advisers who could ‘quarterback’ Epstein’s response to his mounting reputational issues.

Earlier correspondence also shows that Ruemmler reviewed an op-ed Epstein considered submitting to the Washington Post defending his plea deal. The op-ed was never published.

Ruemmler will leave Goldman by the end of June. In a statement, CEO David Solomon said: ‘Throughout her tenure, Kathy has been an extraordinary general counsel, and we are grateful for her contributions and sound advice on a wide range of consequential legal matters for the firm.

‘As one of the most accomplished professionals in her field, Kathy has also been a mentor and friend to many of our people, and she will be missed. I accepted her resignation, and I respect her decision.’

Former Linklaters arbitration co-head Matthieu de Boisséson

The files also include a series of emails from 2015 between Epstein and arbitrator Matthieu de Boisséson – who at the time was co-head of international arbitration at Linklaters – in relation to a dispute involving French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel.

In 2015, Brunel, whose modelling agency had been founded with financing from Epstein, took legal action against him, alleging that he had lost business as a result of reputational damage stemming from Epstein’s actions.

That April, de Boisséson contacted Epstein via email, saying: ‘Jean-Luc has suggested that we meet to talk about the present situation, and perhaps explore the conditions of a way out.’

De Boisséson specified in the messages that he was acting in a personal capacity and that he was ‘not willing to act as a lawyer but just as a friend,’ adding: ‘I do not want any fees neither from JL nor from you.’

The two men arranged to meet, and Epstein offered to pay de Boisséson’s travel expenses, for which de Boisséson said he was ‘grateful.’ Days later, de Boisséson emailed both Epstein and Brunel to summarise his meetings with both men, and again recommended that they reach ‘a fair settlement.’

A Linklaters spokesperson confirmed to LB that the firm has never acted for Epstein or Brunel.

De Boisséson left Linklaters in 2016 after spending less than three years at the firm. He has since been operating as an arbitrator from London set Littleton Chambers, although his membership of the chambers is currently suspended pending a full investigation. De Boisséson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

In a statement to LB, he said: ‘I have never been a friend of Mr Epstein, and I reserve my rights against any alleged association with Mr Epstein or Mr Brunel’s wrongdoings.’

Kirkland & Ellis partner Jay Lefkowitz

The files also provide details on the connections between Epstein and Kirkland & Ellis – which advised Epstein on the non-prosecution agreement (NPA) that was part of his 2008 plea deal – and litigation partner Jay Lefkowitz.

The files include a June 2013 letter sent by Kirkland to Epstein, signed by Lefkowitz, setting out a $50,000 retainer.

The letter reads: ‘We are very pleased that you have asked us to represent you in connection with the effort in Florida by private litigants to unwind the NPA.’

The emails also show that Lefkowitz invited Epstein to his son’s bar mitzvah in 2011, and include an email from Epstein’s assistant Groff the same year, which shows that Epstein allowed Lefkowitz to ‘fly out to the Hamptons with his wife for their anniversary.’

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Taylor Wessing recruits RPC rainmaker in first hire since merger announcement

Fresh from securing partner approval for its merger with US firm Winston & Strawn, Taylor Wessing has made its first lateral hire in London, bringing in RPC rainmaker Jeremy Drew as a partner in its IP practice.

Drew joins after 19 years at RPC, where he was a retail and commercial partner and, until earlier this year, head of the firm’s commercial division. He also served on its board for 15 years.

This followed eight years at Ashurst, where from 1997 he was a partner in the IP and commercial practice.

During his career he has built a practice spanning IP, sports, technology, and retail and consumer matters, as well as corporate governance, earning recognition as a leading partner in Legal 500 for the latter two areas.

In a statement, Drew said: ‘I’m very pleased to be joining Taylor Wessing’s IP, regulatory and digital practice. I look forward to working with my new colleagues, developing the team and enhancing Taylor Wessing’s market-leading IP capabilities, to help clients navigate their most complex IP and commercial challenges.’

Drew has long advised retail magnate and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, one of RPC’s most significant longstanding clients. The firm has also represented Ashley’s Frasers Group — owner of Sports Direct, House of Fraser and luxury fashion retailer Flannels, among other brands — on a series of high-profile commercial disputes and strategic mandates.

Speaking to LB previously, Drew said of the relationship: ‘I’ve dealt with Mike Ashley for 14 years. I’ve had a good working relationship with that group. Challenging but good.’

The hire comes as Taylor Wessing prepares to complete its merger with Winston & Strawn in May 2026, following partner approval in late January. The tie-up will create a firm with more than 1,400 lawyers and revenues of around $1.65bn, with Winston’s 2024 revenues of $1.27bn (£950m) boosted by Taylor Wessing’s UK turnover of £284m.

Shane Gleghorn, Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner, who will serve as the Europe and Middle East managing partner of the combined firm, said of Drew’s hire: ‘His arrival significantly strengthens our market-leading IP practice and reinforces our commitment to building an unrivalled IP powerhouse. Jeremy’s multi-faceted expertise and significant client relationships will create substantial opportunities across our practices and sectors internationally.’

The firm has also seen some pre-merger departures. Since the deal was announced, Taylor Wessing has seen three partner exits in London, with real estate partners Mark Rajbenbach and Victoria Butcher leaving for Mayer Brown, and head of contentious trusts Emma Jordan for Stephenson Harwood, all earlier this month.

An RPC spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm that Jeremy Drew will be leaving the RPC partnership. We thank him for his contribution to the success of the firm and wish him well in his future endeavours.’

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‘It’s always best to avoid death by a thousand cuts’ – what GCs think about the Brad Karp-Epstein firestorm

‘Even with the developments over the last few days, I’m still not sure the firm is getting it right. With these things, it’s always best to avoid death by a thousand cuts – no one comes out of it looking good.’

So says one leading GC of this week’s news that Paul Weiss litigator Brad Karp is set to stay on as a partner at the firm, despite stepping down as chair, after the extent of his ties with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed in emails released by the US Department of Justice.

The days following the release of the files have shone an uncomfortable light on senior figures in a host of professions – and the law is no exception.

While a number of lawyers are referenced in the files, including Goldman GC Kathryn Ruemmler,  Karp’s ties to Epstein have been a particular focus.

Although the emails do not indicate that Karp was involved in any wrongdoing, they do demonstrate that he maintained communications with the disgraced financier for years after his 2008 conviction for procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.

Five days after the files were released, the scrutiny became too intense, and Paul Weiss announced that M&A partner Scott Barshay would take over as chair from Karp, who said in a statement:  ‘Leading Paul Weiss for the past 18 years has been the honour of my professional life. Recent reporting has created a distraction and has placed a focus on me that is not in the best interests of the firm.’

While some may argue that Paul Weiss should have acted faster, or handled it differently, for this article Legal Business spoke to a number of GCs to get their views on both the firm’s response and their expectations of law firms in similar circumstances. None of those spoken to are clients of Paul Weiss.

‘The firm’s responsibility in this situation is to be proactive, transparent about what they did and didn’t know, and hold their hands up and apologise’

‘What I would like to see is more proactive transparency ahead of time,’ says one GC. ‘When it’s known that there’s the potential for information around associations or other kinds of reputational issues to come out, firms need to be proactive with it.’

The GC continues: ‘Part of being proactive is owning the responsibility and communication and being transparent around what they’ve done internally to review the information.’

Another GC agrees that firms should be open when something has gone wrong. ‘The firm’s responsibility in this situation is to be proactive, transparent about what they did and didn’t know, and hold their hands up and apologise where appropriate.’

Although Paul Weiss never advised Epstein, one GC suggests that Karp’s links with the disgraced financier could cause longer-term reputational damage, but only if it emerged that there was a broader cultural issue at the firm.

Talking generally about the impact of reputational damage on firms, they say: ‘Whether there is broader long-term damage to the firm really depends on whether the issue was an individual going rogue, or whether the conduct was a product of the culture at the firm, which will always come out. If you’ve worked closely with a firm, you’ll generally have a good feel for which it’s likely to be.’

However, another GC suggests: ‘From an in-house perspective, a situation like this triggers reputational risk for the firm as a whole, not just the individual. Whether fair or not, clients tend to view law firms as institutions that reflect shared judgement and values.’

A third GC agrees, pointing out that even if the misconduct is not linked directly to the firm, the fact that Karp was in the top management role at Paul Weiss makes it more significant.

‘It raises questions about the ethics, culture, and leadership selection, and whether this event has prompted any reforms,’ they say. ‘Resigning as chairman should not be the end of the matter – if you want to reassure clients that you have a strong ethics culture, then I would expect to see a further statement on reforms and implementation.’

‘It raises questions about the ethics, culture, and leadership selection, and whether this event has prompted any reforms’

Overall, GCs canvassed for this article believe law firms finding themselves under public scrutiny need to think more carefully about client perception and factor that into their public response.

‘From a business standpoint, firms need to be extremely mindful that clients will reassess relationships quickly in the current political and cultural environment. A statement like the ones we’ve seen won’t suffice, especially given the gravity of the underlying situation. Clients want to see a response that reflects an awareness of broader stakeholder concerns, but these statements seem to only reflect on legal exposure.’

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Sullivan & Cromwell makes double partner hire from Paul Hastings in London

Sullivan & Cromwell has hired two practice heads from Paul Hastings, as the New York firm pushes ahead with the latest stage of its City buildout.

Will Needham, chair of Paul Hastings’ European restructuring practice, and Patrick Bright, chair of the firm’s high-yield financing practice, are both set to join S&C, which has been on an aggressive recruitment push in recent months.

Needham is joining as co-head of restructuring alongside Kon Asimacopoulos, the former Kirkland partner who kicked off the Wall Street firm’s expansion drive when he joined in September alongside former Weil London head Mike Francies. Similarly, Bright is set to take up a role as head of high-yield.

S&C’s City expansion has picked up pace since January, with the firm bringing in finance duo Chris McLaughlin and Alastair McVeigh from Weil in late January, in a move that reunites the pair with Francies.

Bright and Needham have both also worked at Weil in the past, with the former a partner there until 2022, while Needham spent three years there as an associate between 2011 and 2014, before joining KKR until his move to Paul Hastings.

The pair handed in their notice at Paul Hastings earlier this week.

The hires come almost a year after Gibson Dunn hired Sullivan & Cromwell’s high-profile finance and restructuring duo Presley Warner and Chris Howard.

Warner was head of the US firm’s European credit and leveraged finance practice and spent almost 14 years at Sullivan, whilst Howard led the firm’s European restructuring practice and is recognised in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for restructuring and insolvency.

Before bringing in Francies and Asimacopoulos, S&C had taken a very conservative approach to hiring in London. Between 2013 and September 2025, the firm only made three lateral hires.

Since then, it has made eight in the capital, including private equity partner Aprajita Dhundia and tax partner Ian Ferreira, who both joined from Kirkland in December.

The most recent hire before Francies and Asimacopoulos was the June 2025 addition of former A&O Shearman global financial services regulatory co-head Barney Reynolds.

Needham’s departure from Paul Hastings comes after last year’s exit of London co-chair Mei Lian, who co-led the firm’s European restructuring practice alongside him.

Lian left for Linklaters last autumn, and was followed by financial restructuring partner David Shennan, who joined Linklaters as counsel.

Paul Hastings’ London restructuring team now comprises three partners – Helena Potts, Jessica Ling and Tom McKay.

Potts, a former partner at Latham & Watkins and legacy Shearman & Sterling, has been at the firm since 2023, while Ling and McKay joined from Akin and Shearman respectively in 2024.

Meanwhile, Bright’s departure comes after fellow high-yield finance partner Edward Holmes left for Cadwalader last summer. The firm’s remaining partners on the high-yield front include Max Kirchner and Reena Gogna.

Earlier in the month, Paul Hastings hired David Richardson, a funds partner from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

Paul Hastings’ London revenue has grown 20% year on year and 100% over the last three.

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