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Betting big on the US: HSF Kramer chiefs on what’s next for their $2bn merger

‘Often when you put two businesses together, you’re looking for ways to streamline, and for ways to cut. For us, it’s the complete opposite – it’s all about growth and build,’ says HSF Kramer chair and senior partner Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, as she and CEO Justin D’Agostino set out the strategy for newly merged Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.

Speaking to LB barely three months after the union between Anglo-Australian Herbert Smith Freehills and New York’s Kramer Levin went live on 1 June, she and D’Agostino are explaining the bold investment plan that sets out just how much they want to grow in the all-important US market.

With the US plans forming a crucial plank of the firm’s wider strategy, aptly named ‘Ambition’, the intention is for HSFK to ramp up its burgeoning US operations significantly beyond the c.120 partners the merged firm had at the time of the combination.

The plan includes a commitment to building up on the transactional side in particular in the US, with the firm aiming to bring in around 20 US partners across key practices such as private equity, bankruptcy and restructuring, as well as technology and energy.

Significantly, this figure does not include any efforts in Texas, where the firm is hoping to launch in order to capitalise on legacy HSF’s energy strengths.

As D’Agostino tells LB: ‘We’re going into the US market with a pre-agreed investment plan to hire around 20 new partners. That c.20 partners doesn’t include a Texas build. All options are on the table for us there. It could be anything from organic growth to looking for another law firm to combine with HSF Kramer.’

Emphasising how the HSF Kramer merger differs from other transatlantic unions, he reiterates Maslen-Stannage’s point : ‘We’re not going in with a pre-agreed cutting plan. This feels so successful because it’s about build.’

While Texas may be a way off, the duo are not wasting any time putting the wider investment plan into effect. Earlier this week the firm announced the hire of a new technology transactions partner in New York, with Burr Eckstut joining the freshly combined HSFK offices on Avenue of the Americas from White & Case.

Alongside the targeted increase in partner count, hiking US revenue is also high up on the agenda.

Financial results for each legacy firm’s final financial year put revenue at £1.358bn (up 4%) for pre-merger HSF and $467.2m (£344.8m and up 7%) for Kramer.

According to D’Agostino, on day one of the merger, the US became about 22% of the firm’s £1.7bn ($2.3bn) combined revenue. Over the next few years, the firm has ‘an ambition and an objective to get that to 30%.’

This figure is important because what both leaders are aiming for is balance. Billing HSFK as ‘the first transatlantic and transpacific law firm’, D’Agostino wants to maintain the differentiator gained through legacy HSF’s strong Asia-Pacific presence, while also building up the US and in key European markets such as Germany.

‘I’m not sure any of the other global law firms have our scale and depth in APAC,’ he says. ‘Very few would be able to claim that they have market-leading transactional and disputes capabilities in all the major financial centres – New York, London, Hong Kong and Singapore. But we do,’ he adds.

‘Being both transatlantic and transpacific has proved to be a real differentiator. It will take a bit of time, but we will be a firm which is truly balanced globally, with a third of our business in the US, a third in the UK and EMEA, and a third  in APAC.’

Looking beyond geography to clients, future-proofing the firm’s success by targeting high growth industries is also a key focus.

‘If you were to place a bet on where you’re going to make the next $500m in fees, you would be looking at those sectors and gaining market share,’ explains D’Agostino. ‘ So that’s energy, that’s private capital – which is a big strategic priority – and it’s sectors like tech.’

This future-proofing is another reason why building out the merged firm’s energy practice is important.

‘The world’s appetite for energy is only growing as populations grow and as technology grows. And we are in that space in a very big way. Data centres is also an important new part of our Ambition strategy.’

With any merger, there is a risk that two plus two does not add up to four but, buoyed by the lack of overlap that meant they could hit the ground running, Maslen-Stannage says the benefits in terms of mandates and clients are already visible.

‘The complexity of any combination is real. You’re putting two firms, systems and cultures together. I would say we’ve only had one area of overlap, which was NY, which made it easier.

She adds: ‘We’re already ahead of our synergy targets. It’s coming through very quickly in terms of the client mandates that we’re winning. Suddenly there’s a surge in confidence and excitement among the partnership because we are able to go out and say ‘we can do any of your transactions anywhere in the world’ – particularly now in the US.’

D’Agostino adds: ‘It’s a big challenge to pull off a combination like this, but it’s actually lower risk and less difficult than trying to grow in the US by adding ones and twos and building out that way. What you get with a combination like ours is a functioning group that’s got history and chemistry from day one. They’re a profitable, successful firm already – this is about how we can collectively make it even more so.’

Although the firm has been financially integrated from day one, the leadership team have yet to tackle the thornier issue of integrating partner pay, with partners still currently paid according to each legacy firm’s pay structure. The project is on the agenda for the year ahead, with the ultimate ambition that all partners will be paid under a unified system, but it’s fair to say that management are not fazed by any challenges ahead in this regard.

D’Agostino stresses that the merger ‘is already proving to be a game changer’ and is confident in the firm’s ability to hit its new targets.

He concludes: ‘We were the last top-tier international firm that didn’t have scale in the US, but we’ve fixed that gap. Now we’ve got a plan, we’ve got a strategy. It’s deliberate, and the next phase is deliberate too.’

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JERA’s Angela Yuen on the energy transition, building a legal function and a ‘zero to 100’ deal with BP

Angela Yuen, deputy GC of Japanese energy powerhouse JERA, has built a career spanning private practice and in-house roles across Australia, Japan, and beyond. She talks us through establishing the JERA Nex legal department in London as its first GC, and her oversight of the landmark deal combining offshore wind assets with bp.

You’ve been at JERA for almost ten years. How did you end up in the running for the general counsel role at JERA Nex?  

It was a bit opportunistic, to be honest! In my role as deputy general counsel at JERA, I led global legal tech and innovation, overseeing legal functions across the company’s major subsidiaries. That included building out legal teams, recruiting talent, and aligning legal’s strategy and function with each business’s operational goals. 

As part of that, I worked closely with the original JERA NEX leadership team, helping shape the legal function from the ground up. It was exciting: being involved at a strategic level, seeing both the global and regional landscape, and working closely with a wide range of stakeholders 

When JERA NEX was established, I was initially tasked with helping recruit a general counsel. But as we progressed through the process and, especially during interviews, I realised this was a role I wanted to pursue myself. JERA NEX operates very much like a startup – we literally built the plane as we flew it. That meant no established systems, no large legal team– just a blank canvas. It called for someone hands-on, creative, and comfortable navigating fast-moving, unstructured environment. 

We had strong interest from major corporates like BP and Shell, but our CEO was looking for something different: someone entrepreneurial, ready to roll up their sleeves and build from scratch. 

After a while, the search wasn’t quite landing, and I started to seriously consider stepping forward. I had done a lot in LNG, and, for my own development, I wanted to focus more on renewables – that’s where I see the future – and London was always been on my list of places to live. 

So, I had conversations with our CEO, Natalie Oosterlinck, and the executive team. It turned out to be a great fit. I already had strong ties to HQ, which proved invaluable in setting up a new business. Those relationships meant I could hit the ground running, connect the dots globally, and start building something meaningful. 

Tell us deal about the deal to combine your offshore wind assets into a new with BP – it all happened very quickly, right?

Exactly. Last year was full of change. I’d just taken on the role of GC at JERA NEX, and the reason my family wasn’t with me was because the school year had already started. So we made a decision quickly. There was no time to search for schools or settle in gradually. I just dove straight in. 

At first, the deal was very exploratory. It was a small group involved, namely our Chief Investment Officer, CEO, me, and a few senior execs including our global CEO. Early conversations were at a high level with BP and advisors, asking – does this even make sense? 

But then it escalated fast, essentially from zero to 100. Within ten weeks we were signing. 

What can you share about the experience of working with BP and how the collaboration has evolved? 

Initially, I was a bit sceptical. This deal involved fully combining BP’s and our offshore wind assets into a new business. My hesitation was around culture. BP is a huge corporate with a very strong identity, and we were bringing in assets like Parkwind, our Belgian offshore wind business, which has a small, family-run feel. I was worried about the cultural clash. Plus, the offshore wind sector has had a tough time recently, with rising interest rates, volatile electricity prices, and procurement challenges. The industry is at an inflection point. Some oil majors that had shifted toward energy transition have reversed course, pulling back from renewables. And we’ve seen companies walking away from projects or consolidating portfolios. 

This was a strategic decision for us. Our goal is 20 GW of renewables by 2035. By combining our offshore wind assets with BP’s, we’re now looking at a total pipeline of around 18 GW globally. Much of that is still in development, but it’s a big step. We’re now almost halfway to our target. 

The fit turned out to be stronger than expected. BP brings scale — particularly in procurement, supply chain, and market access in places like the UK and Germany. We bring operational experience. We’ve delivered projects, secured leases, we know how to execute. 

So as long as the numbers worked, it really made sense. In terms of offshore wind asset size, it puts us in the top three or four players globally, just behind the likes of Ørsted and RWE. 

You’ve had to build a legal department from scratch, and quickly, too. What were your first priorities? And what comes next? 

That creative, blank-canvas aspect was a big part of what attracted me to the role. I liked the idea of building something new, rather than stepping into a major corporate with established systems and processes. 

I’ve had some experience with that before. When I joined JERA, it was at the very start of the joint venture. We had secondees from TEPCO and Chubu, and then Kenji Tagaya-san from JBIC, I came in as the ‘X-factor’ hire. Over the past nine years, I helped build the legal function there from the ground up. Japan is a very different landscape. That experience shaped a lot of my thinking, and I’ve brought that mindset with me to London. 

In the UK market, you take inspiration from HQ, but you also have to tailor it to the business. It has to be fit for purpose. So, the first step is understanding the business. What’s the ambition? What are the strategic goals? And then, identify the skill sets needed. 

Under legal, there are really three pillars: legal, compliance and governance. Governance was a top priority, so hiring a company secretary was one of the first moves. I also looked at existing capabilities, particularly within Parkwind, which has a strong and established legal team focused on offshore wind. That’s already about half of our business. 

The other half is onshore, and for that, we needed to look ahead. What’s the best path to reaching our 20 GW ambition? It won’t be through organic development alone; M&A will be critical. So, we needed legal talent with experience in driving organic growth. 

At the same time, compliance needed to be built out in parallel. You can’t treat any of the three pillars — legal, compliance, governance — as optional or secondary. They need to run in parallel. 

And of course, people are everything. I’m proud of the team we’re building. It’s small but tight-knit, and we’ve been very intentional about the culture: collaboration, creativity, psychological safety, and inclusion. We’ve built a diverse team, and from the beginning I’ve been clear: we need to be a high-performing unit that is efficient, effective, and deeply embedded in the business. 

Part of that means being flexible and agile, and that includes using legal tech. I’m passionate about legal tech and the digitalisation of legal functions. We shouldn’t just do things the same way because “that’s how they’ve always been done.” 

When I hire, I look for three qualities: curiosity, confidence, and creativity. I want people who’ll challenge the status quo and bring fresh thinking. It’s about doing things faster, better, and smarter. 

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From Credit Suisse to the credit crunch: UBS’s Simon Croxford on a career of unprecedented moments

From the global financial crisis to the Credit Suisse rescue, it’s safe to say that UBS Investment Bank and EMEA GC Simon Croxford has had a front row seat for some of this century’s defining moments for the banking and finance industry.

Croxford, who has spent the last 25 years in senior in-house roles at UBS and Barclays, was in his second spell at UBS when the prospect of the acquisition of the bank’s faltering Swiss counterpart first emerged.

‘I was in Hong Kong at the time – I took a flight back to London pretty quickly. It was something we needed all hands on deck for.’

After reporting its biggest annual losses since the financial crisis, in early 2023 Credit Suisse saw its stock price plummet and, that March, its largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, ruled out providing additional capital to stabilise the bank.

Just four days later, it was announced that UBS had agreed to buy the bank for three billion Swiss francs, a historic deal brokered by the Swiss government to enable it to take place without shareholder approval.

‘It was unprecedented; the first time that two systemically important financial institutions have come together,’ Croxford recalls.

While a deal of such scale presented many challenges, Croxford points to the unique benefits of bringing together two such significant organisations.

‘It’s very rare that you get a real look into what another organisation does. This was a situation where literally the minute the merger was completed in June 2023, we were able to access all areas and work out how they had done things that we had wondered about for years.’

‘We could tap into their experience – adopt the positives, mitigate the challenges and leverage their experience.’

‘It was unprecedented; the first time that two systemically important financial institutions have come together’

From an early age, Croxford was set on pursuing a career in the legal field, recalling the influence of an older cousin who went into human rights law. ‘I remember talking through some of the case studies that he was learning about – I was fascinated.’

Croxford studied a dual law degree, which included a French component that enabled him to study for two years at the Sorbonne in Paris.

‘I realised I wanted to work with different cultures, use my French and live abroad. Finance is one of those areas where you can really work with different countries, work globally, use languages, and since then I’ve never looked back.’

After his degree, Croxford got a job at Linklaters. While there, he once more got the chance to live in Paris, combining working and living abroad, which sealed the deal for him. He chose to qualify into the finance department and ultimately spent six years with the firm.

During this time, Croxford worked directly with a number of banks and their in-house teams and realised that his colleagues on the other side of the fence had a much broader role, beyond the pure legal.

‘I was doing work for banks as clients, and what was really interesting was that the in-house clients would come to you having already decided what deals they wanted to do – it was clear that there had already been a lot of discussions in the background.’

For Croxford, this was an eye-opener about the appeal of an in-house career, and helped him begin to understand how lawyers within companies can be most influential. ‘Your primary role as an in-house lawyer is being a partner to the business to help them structure things and solve problems.

‘I see the role of a good lawyer as going beyond just providing advice,’ he adds. ‘You provide direction, you provide certainty where there’s a lack of certainty, and you help the institution deal with crises.’

This blend of legal and commercial drove Croxford to start the 2000s with a move to the client side, and he secured a role at UBS, a client of Linklaters.

Croxford looks back on ‘four and a half very happy years’ at UBS, from shuttling around the globe, again to Paris, and then to Russia and various parts of Eastern Europe. He remembers working on big deals in emerging markets, before in 2005 moving to Barclays, where he ultimately stayed for 13 years.

The job at Barclays offered Croxford the chance to join an organisation that was in growth mode, with a much smaller investment bank that still had potential for more. ‘For me, it was an opportunity to be part of a growth story and to lead a team for the first time.’

‘I see the role of a good lawyer as going beyond just providing advice. You provide certainty where there’s a lack of certainty’’

Three years into the job, the US housing market collapsed, prompting the seismic shocks of the global financial crisis and leading to the downfall of many major financial institutions.

Croxford was working in the investment banking legal team in EMEA at the time. ‘It was something that in my lifetime the industry hadn’t seen before. Seeing the collapses of banks during the course of the year was really concerning. It was an incredibly intense time for the industry.’

‘We had to do a lot of hand-holding during that period, staying calm and providing direction where we could, he continues. ‘As we went through early to late 2008, we spent a lot of time reviewing our exposure to other financial institutions and preparing for various scenarios.’

The Lehman Brothers collapse was a pivotal moment for Barclays, with the British bank’s $1.75bn acquisition of Lehman’s North American investment banking and trading divisions transforming its US platform overnight.

‘A few of us were also brought into the work on acquiring Lehman Brothers’ North American business’, Croxford recalls. ‘For me, this brought mixed emotions given everything going on with institutions that had been such a constant part of our work life for years – but equally, it was a great opportunity for Barclays to grow its business into a key area for the organisation.’

Croxford’s time at Barclays also had a transformative impact on his career, seeing him grow his team to 30 people, move to Singapore and back, land his first general counsel role and see the investment bank grow into a much bigger division.

‘In my last three years at Barclays, I was the group centre GC, which essentially involved working on anything that was significant and strategic for the organisation,’ he explains. ‘We were undergoing a period of change, and I worked with senior management on a range of matters from the sale of Barclays’ longstanding Africa business to the ringfencing of our UK bank, from large enforcement and litigation matters to dealing with an activist investor.’

By the time Croxford left in 2018, the bank was ‘virtually unrecognisable from when I first joined’, he recalls. ‘I learned a great deal during this time – not only about how large financial institutions are managed and make decisions, but also about myself and how to deal with periods of challenge from a personal perspective.’

When the opportunity arose to move back to UBS, the decision was easy. Croxford had seen Barclays transform and was ready to go back to what he knew: investment banking, driven in large part by the opportunity to head the investment bank’s team globally.

The in-house blend of law and business has always kept Croxford fulfilled, but as he acknowledges, ‘it depends on the kind of lawyer you want to be.’

While not being a revenue earner, the influence to shape strategy for an organisation, as well as seeing deals through from start to finish, is something he would not trade back.

‘I’m really pleased that UBS does use our senior lawyers as true strategic partners. I know that when the bank is developing a strategy, we are at the table. It’s really important for legal to get involved, we don’t just provide legal advice. We have an ability to provide various other forms of value-add as well.’

Croxford’s tips for success:

– ‘Be intellectually curious and get comfortable outside your comfort zone.’
– ‘Be open to change and work with technology.’
– ‘Don’t be afraid to seize opportunities.’
– Be passionate about what you do.’
– Be flexible in terms of gaining new experiences.’
– ‘Be open minded and build a network.’

Career timeline

1994-2000: Associate, international finance department, Linklaters

2000-04: Lawyer, transactions legal EMEA, UBS

2005-10: Lawyer, IBD legal EMEA, Barclays

2010-12: Head IBD legal EMEA, Barclays

2012-15: General counsel, APAC, Barclays

2015-16: General counsel, investment bank EMEA, Barclays

2015-18: General counsel, group centre, Barclays

2018-present: General counsel investment banking and EMEA, UBS

UBS – key facts

Size of legal team: 1,000+
External legal spend: not disclosed
Preferred advisers/panel firms: not disclosed
Total company revenue: $48.6bn
Employees worldwide: 110,300

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‘No playbook for a crisis’: the world’s leading GCs on steering companies through global disruption

Legal 500’s GC Powerlist series is the most comprehensive annual survey of the world’s top corporate counsel, with approximately 4,000 GCs, chief legal officers, legal directors and other senior in-house lawyers profiled across all corners of the globe each year.

This unrivalled platform provides extensive insight into the issues that are front of the mind for modern corporate counsel, from global supply chain breakdowns and rising economic protectionism, to international conflict and the return to a multipolar world order.

Whatever their opinions on the causes and catalysts, most are in agreement that the geopolitical environment in which they operate is now more volatile than at any other time in recent history, with the spectre of a declining international business environment looming large.

Here, a line-up of leading in-house lawyers offer their take on the issues that are top of their agenda, with insights drawn from more than 1,000 interviews.

‘Geopolitical and economic power games’

Dr Michael Stelzel, group general counsel and chief compliance officer of Hoerbiger in Austria, spoke of ‘extremely fast-moving sanctions regimes, combined with geopolitical and economic power games’, which force all companies who are global players to be ‘extremely aware of the latest trends and changes in the fields of public and regulatory law’.

To remain competitive in this environment, Stelzel (pictured right) believes that GCs must develop the ‘ability to adapt and implement new processes very quickly’, while leading from the front in a commercial sense as well: ‘[GCs] must innovate in how to make business on a global scale by also implementing local business’.

This dynamic shows no sign of slowing down. In Latin America, Alejandro Royo of Tetra Pak in Panama spoke of how he believes that ‘geopolitical tension worldwide will continue to increase in the future, and our region will not escape from its effects’.

Royo (pictured right) warns that ‘corporate counsel must be prepared to deal in a complex political and economic environment, which may impact current supply chains and increase pressure to the business due to new trade and export control restrictions.’

In an interview he gave at the start of the year, Brandon Yap, head of legal for Bouygues Construction in Hong Kong, agrees: ‘2025 is opening up to be a challenging year of much uncertainty globally’.

Yap raised concerns over the effects of US government policy, particularly tariffs and the ‘almost daily deluge of executive orders’. He argues that many countries are likely to retaliate, with the risk that ‘the impact [of this], which often is not contractually contemplated for, will have a domino effect on the Asia region.’

Madison Brackelmanns, general counsel of Suffolk Construction Company in New York,  pointed to the widespread impact  of the current US government on global trade: ‘I am sure all of my peers have an eye on significant policy changes coming from this Presidential administration’.

While tariffs are a risk to most industries, working in the construction sector Brackelmanns is particularly exposed, and she notes that ‘keeping abreast of these matters requires minute-to-minute attention to remain nimble and keep advice current.’

‘Be solutions-focused, be realistic’

In Thailand, Pajaree Thongvanit, head of legal for CIMB Thai, also cites “Trump 2.0” and the US president’s trade policies as the crucial trends in 2025 that ‘must be kept under close watch at all times.’ These developments are changing the global landscape entirely – socially, financially, and politically’, she warns.

From Brazil, Karina Close D’Angelo de Carvalho (pictured right), executive general counsel, Latin America for GE Aerospace, reports that the main external trends affecting her work are ‘the geopolitical impact of the decisions being taken by governments around the world’. To safeguard the company, she drills into her team that it is ‘critical that [they] are prepared to address the applicability of local laws in the different jurisdictions that we operate’.

But, as Brandon Yap points out, ‘there is usually no “playbook” or precedents to rely on’ when dealing with crises or uncertainty. ‘Solutions should come from working closely with management and key stakeholders to address the context of the crisis’, he advises. He also emphasises working with stakeholders to ‘map out pitfalls and potential commercial, procurement or legal workarounds’.

Yap’s own strategy includes a number of key considerations: ‘Firstly, there are the core pillars of active listening, building trust, and collective decision-making by consensus; secondly, I make sure my team is using the correct methodology to anticipate, be solutions-focused, be realistic, and provide feasible proposals; thirdly if there is disagreement, the team must be able to openly express views, look for positives rather than negatives, and seek solutions as a team.’

‘Companies and their legal teams need to navigate this regulatory tsunami with colleagues from other functions. No one can do it alone’

The worsening geopolitical environment was something which was consistently mentioned as a headache factor by GCs across the globe, but the next notable trend mentioned by our GC Powerlist alumni in 2025 is a more regional one.

While GCs across the globe are feeling the effects of the worsening geopolitical environment, in Europe, many GCs are frantically preparing for the ‘regulatory tsunami from Brussels and beyond’, as general counsel Juhani Ristaniemi of Outokumpu in Finland describes it. ‘Companies and their legal teams need to navigate this with their colleagues from other functions. No one can do it alone, nor will it take care of itself’, Ristaniemi concludes.

Fleur de Roos (pictured right), featured on our Netherlands 2025 GC Powerlist, agrees – she links increasing regulation to the diplomatic strains between Europe, the US, and Big Tech. ‘Following Mario Draghi’s report and Trump becoming president, we will see a regress of overcomplicated and layered EU regulation. The EU will try to simplify regulation to remain competitive, but will still hang on tight to its most important milestones, for example GDPR, to counter Big Tech’.

De Roos is watching the situation with interest: ‘It will be interesting to see whether the EU can achieve harmonisation in a more effective manner: this in itself is a challenge. One of the items we are keeping a close eye on in this regard is the further specification of the AML Regulation.’

Hyun-Soo Kim, general legal counsel Europe at Hyundai Motor Europe in Germany, has witnessed the pervasive nature of regulatory preparation across the corporate world in Germany. He argues that ‘everyone will agree that the regulatory environment will continue to evolve at a rapid pace’.

In terms of specific laws, Kim mentioned the EU’s Green Deal and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, but also the new digital regulations including the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. These ‘will impose additional requirements on companies’, he explains, ‘and it will no longer be enough to merely comply with new regulations and their requirements. It is vital to ensure alignment with all internal stakeholders, as these regulations could directly impact the company’s business strategy’.

Annemiek Meijvogel (pictured right), head of legal franchise for Inter IKEA Systems and corporate counsel in the Netherlands, observes that ‘regulatory changes are gaining momentum, and both the number of regulations and the complexity of requirements that need to be met by companies are increasing’.

Since it is ‘more difficult than ever to keep on top of significant new regulatory and legal developments’, Meijvogel argues that there is now a ‘strong need to gain better insight into all legislation that is anticipated’. And to get ahead of the regulation, close cooperation between legal and public affairs is key: ‘Legal counsel are more involved in the prioritisation of public affairs, advising during the legislative process and playing a bigger role in the implementation of new acts’, she says.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters also continue to be a major focus for Powerlist GCs, despite the new US administration’s deregulation efforts and green policy retrenchment.

‘In many areas of the law we are seeing a paradigm shift’

Jennifer Steindler Darling, VP legal affairs and general counsel for North America at Hugo Boss, spoke of the conflicting priorities in the United States when it comes to ESG. ‘Despite the trend towards federal deregulation’, Darling explains, ‘ESG remains a very hot topic at the state level. I believe in many areas of the law we are seeing a paradigm shift, which requires in-house teams to be open to change on both a strategic and operational level’.

Esteban Buldú Freixa, legal director of Camper, who was featured in the Spain 2025 GC Powerlist, identified ESG regulation as one of the external trends most clearly defining his work in 2025. ‘One of the biggest challenges is to be able to identify the obligations of our company in terms of fulfillment of ESG policies’, Freixa explains. ‘The tsunami of regulations in the EU (and its transposition), as well as in other jurisdictions, is immense and complex – this makes it a huge challenge to identify and evaluate the impact on the company’.

In Ecuador, Adriana Marcela Santiago Guerrero (pictured right), director of legal affairs for human resouces at Patterson-UTI International, points out that, while ESG principles have been a topic for the agenda for years now, many companies in the region still struggle with practical implementation.

Now, ‘regulators and investors are paying closer attention to corporate sustainability practices, making it essential for in-house counsel to take a proactive role in integrating ESG considerations into business strategies’, she observes.

Floortje Jansen, general counsel of DAF Trucks in the Netherlands, describes how the regulators’ change of focus has led to a paradigm shift in how in-house teams visualise their role.

‘Previously’, she explains, ‘the regulator was focused on establishing rules for relationships between companies and parties. Now, the focus is much more on regulating the internal organisation within companies. This includes compliance regulations, regulations around corporate social responsibility (CSRD, CSDDD (ESG)), as well as data regulations.’

This new regulatory emphasis has a knock-on effect on the role of in-house counsel. According to Jansen, ‘it is shifting from an advisor involved in contracts to a project manager involved in the implementation of regulations and processes. The risk-based approach of new regulation shifts the internal focus from what needs to be done to what ‘risk-based approach’ meets stakeholders’ expectations’.

‘Proactive yet prudent use of AI is critical’

On a more positive note, AI continues to be a source of optimism for GCs the world over. Not only can it demonstrably make routine tasks quicker to complete, but also the potential downsides of AI adoption have not materialised to the extent that some feared. By and large, GCs have not experienced the shrinking headcounts that some expected. Many GCs look forward to the increasing efficiencies that it can bring, too.

Takahiro Hasegawa (pictured right) of Uber in Japan believes that ‘one of the most significant trends [affecting in-house legal teams] is the rapid rise of generative AI’.

According to Takahiro, AI ‘has quickly become an essential tool for enhancing efficiency. The effectiveness with which a company — and its legal department — adopts and integrates Gen AI will likely be a key factor in its success’ Key to doing this successfully is ‘identifying the tasks that Gen AI can handle well, delegating accordingly, and maintaining a clear understanding of its limitations’, advises Hasegawa.

Fumitaka Eshima, general counsel of UBS in Japan, agrees: ‘The use of AI is gaining increasing importance at work at a faster pace than expected, and we must keep it high on our agenda as in-house counsel. Proactive yet prudent use of AI is critical for any successful in-house legal team. We aspire to advance with, and take advantage of, developments in AI accordingly.’

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Hogan Lovells builds in Brussels with Steptoe team hire

Hogan Lovells has bulked out its Brussels trade practice with a trio of hires from Steptoe LLP, bringing over the firm’s EU trade practice head Renato Antonini, as well as Eva Monard and Byron Maniatis (all pictured).

The trio arrived at Steptoe in October 2021 from Jones Day, where Antonini was head of the firm’s Brussels international trade practice.

A Legal 500 leading partner in the Belgium customs and trade ranking and former head of Steptoe’s Brussels office, Antonini brings over 25 years of experience to Hogan Lovells, advising corporates, sovereigns, and associations on trade remedies, sanctions, WTO disputes, and customs law.

Also listed as a next-generation partner in the Legal 500, Monard brings expertise advising on EU and WTO trade matters, sanctions, customs, and sustainability-driven trade barriers.

Previously an of counsel at Steptoe, Maniatis began his career at Hogan Lovells in 2012 before moving firms, now focusing on compliance, international agreements, and dispute settlement.

Commenting on the hires, Jonathan Stoel and Ajay Kuntamukkala, co-practice area leaders of Hogan Lovells’ global trade and investment practice, said: ‘These hires in Brussels reinforce our commitment to clients navigating international trade and investment issues in Europe and globally. Against a complex geopolitical backdrop, our team is uniquely positioned to handle the most challenging cross-border mandates.’

Antonini added: ‘Hogan Lovells offers a global platform with the strength and depth to handle the most complex trade and regulatory mandates that corporates face in the current geopolitical context. We are very excited to join a team with such an outstanding reputation and culture, and to work alongside respected colleagues in the firm’s Brussels office and beyond, to help clients navigate the rapidly evolving EU trade and global compliance landscape.’

The hires bring Hogan Lovells’ Brussels trade practice to a total of four partners, and follows other hires in Europe this year, including a five-partner Milan corporate finance team from White & Case in January.

A Steptoe spokesperson said: ‘We are recognized as one of the world’s top-tier international trade practices, which is what drew them to us a few years ago. They are good lawyers who did good work for our clients while they were with us.  We continue to attract other tremendous talent to the group, with significant growth this year, and we expect to have another record breaking year as the international trade environment continues to challenge and create opportunities for our clients.

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Trading places: latest US moves for Linklaters, Clifford Chance and Ropes

Linklaters’ co-head of Americas energy and infrastructure has left the firm in a double departure to Akin.

Ron Erlichman (pictured), who is joining the US firm in New York, is moving with counsel Nick Atwood, who is making partner at Akin’s Washington DC base.

Erlichman is leaving Linklaters less than three years after joining from Sidley in late 2022. He co-headed the magic circle firm’s Americas energy and infrastructure practice alongside Marius Griskonis, who joined from White & Case in March 2023.

‘With rapidly growing power needs driven by AI, data centres and electrification, our energy and infrastructure practice continues to see increasing client demand across a variety of transactions’, Akin co-chair Abid Qureshi said in a statement. ‘Ron and Nick’s experience will be a great benefit to our clients as they are developing and financing the next generation of the energy economy.’

Akin has made a number of other hires in recent months, including infrastructure M&A partner Jason Wagenmaker – one of four partners who left Mayer Brown to establish Akin’s new office in Chicago.

Also in New York, Clifford Chance has hired private equity partner Andrea Gede-Lang from Fried Frank.

Global head of private equity Jonny Myers said in a statement: ‘Welcoming Andrea enhances our position as trusted and established advisors, delivering for private equity clients in every region. Her extensive experience in the US strengthens our ability to meet growing client needs locally and globally across the full private capital life cycle.’

Gede-Lang added: ‘I look forward to joining Clifford Chance and contributing to a dynamic, collaborative and truly global team. The firm’s growth and impactful work being done across the US makes this an inspiring time to join.’

Gede-Lang is the third PE partner to join the magic circle firm in New York in the last year, following the arrivals of O’Melveny & Myers duo David Schultz and Vince Ferrito last autumn.

The firm has set out its stall in private capital over the last year, with a clutch of hires in London, while also building in New York, bringing over partners including US M&A co-head Chang-Do Gong from White & Case in May 2024.

Ropes & Gray also made a corporate hire in New York last week, bringing in M&A partner Michael Brueck from Kirkland & Ellis.

Brueck brings broad expertise advising on transactions across a range of industries, with a particular focus on real estate and infrastructure deals. His time at Kirkland saw him advise life sciences company Danaher on a range of matters, including its $21.4bn acquisition of General Electric’s biopharma business in 2020 and its $9.6bn acquisition of cell and gene therapy manufacturing partner Aldevron in 2021.

His hire marks the second major M&A lateral into Ropes this year, with David Harris joining from Paul Weiss in January.

At the same time, Ropes has also seen a significant team exit, with intellectual property litigation chair Steven Pepe leading a 21-lawyer group to Sheppard Mullin. He joins in New York, alongside Kevin Post, who made partner at Ropes in 2014, and Matthew Shapiro, who was a counsel at Ropes.

Also moving are partners Jim Davis and David Chun in Silicon Valley, and 16 special counsel and associates who will be based across Sheppard Mullin’s offices in New York, Washington DC, Silicon Valley and Seoul.

Sheppard Mullin chair Luca Salvi said in a statement: ‘Given the changing competitive landscape in the current and future global environment, we believe that protecting IP assets is the core value of business in the future, and the addition of this group further solidifies the firm’s reputation as a global patent litigation powerhouse.’

The firm has been expanding its IP offering in recent years, making a trio of partner hires from Perkins Coie in June – David Fournier in Chicago and Allison Glasunow and Kourtney Mueller Merrill in Washington DC.

Elsewhere, Cadwalader’s recent exits have continued with the departure to Proskauer of a four-partner team led by leveraged finance head Ronald Lovelace and including Patrick Yingling, Jared Zajac, and Joey Polonsky.

The four partners join the firm in Charlotte, North Carolina, where they will launch a new office.

Proskauer chair Tim Mungovan said in a statement: ‘Charlotte is a critical market for our clients and for the future of global finance. Ron, Patrick, Jared and Joey have extensive experience in finance and they are widely recognized as market leaders. Their arrival will further strengthen the firm’s ability to deliver solutions across the full life cycle of finance – from origination to restructuring.’

Lovelace added: ‘It’s an honour for our team to join Proskauer’s best-in-class global finance platform. We are excited to expand the reach to Charlotte and pave the way for both the city’s and the firm’s continued growth in this sector.’

The departures come after an eight-partner CLO team left Cadwalader for Orrick earlier this month, with the partners based in London, Washington DC, and Charlotte, where Orrick will also establish a new presence.

Finally, Cooley’s antitrust and competition chair Ethan Glass has left the firm’s Washington DC office to become chief legal officer at residential real estate broker Compass. Glass joined Cooley in 2022 after nearly six years at Quinn, and has prior experience as an assistant chief and trial attorney in the Litigation III section of the US Department of Justice.

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‘Saudi has placed its trust in the potential of women, and we’re delivering results’ – Badael legal chief Atheer Al BinAli

Atheer Al BinAli heads up the legal team at Badael –  a company which supports individuals to quit smoking by providing tobacco-free alternatives. Here, she discusses the scope of her role, the impact of Vision 2030 on business, and the rise of women in the Saudi legal profession  

What are your responsibilities as chief legal officer at Badael, and how your role has evolved with the company’s growth? 

From the outset, my role at the company has been strategic, with a strong focus on legal and regulatory leadership. I was tasked not only with steering the company through a complex regulatory environment, but also with building the legal function from the ground up. This meant designing the department’s structure, defining its mandate, and putting together a talented and powerful team capable of supporting the business through every stage of growth. 

My responsibilities span a wide range, from product classification and regulatory advocacy to managing cross-border legal matters and engaging with authorities both locally and internationally. At Badael, legal is not seen as a reactive function, but as a proactive partner in progress, driving compliance, enabling market entry, and contributing to the company’s long-term vision. 

With the rapid regulatory changes driven by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, how do you ensure that Badael remains compliant and is able to adapt to new legal requirements? 

Vision 2030 has accelerated regulatory transformation across all sectors, including ours. At Badael, we stay ahead by maintaining direct and ongoing engagement with regulatory bodies and ensuring our legal and operational strategies are aligned with the latest developments. 

Compliance is built into the way we operate — from product design to market entry — allowing us to adapt quickly and effectively as new requirements emerge. This proactive mindset enables us to navigate change with agility and confidence. 

How do you align regional compliance efforts with global regulatory frameworks? 

Our approach is to build a regulatory foundation that is both locally rooted and globally aware. We benchmark against international best practices, especially in areas like product classification, labeling, consumer safety, and data protection. 

When entering new markets, we work with local counsel to localise our compliance efforts without compromising the standards we’ve set internally. This hybrid approach allows us to scale responsibly and maintain credibility with regulators and partners around the world. 

Vision 2030 encourages increased foreign investment. How have international partners responded to this initiative, and what challenges or opportunities have you come across when working on a cross-border basis? 

Vision 2030 has sent a clear message to the global community: Saudi Arabia is open for business, innovation, and partnership. International partners have responded with growing interest and enthusiasm, especially in sectors aligned with sustainability, health, and technological advancement. At Badael, we’ve seen this first-hand through increased dialogue with global stakeholders who view the Kingdom as a promising and evolving market. 

That said, cross-border collaboration always brings a degree of complexity, particularly when navigating regulatory inconsistencies, legal interpretations, and varying approval timelines. One of the main challenges lies in bridging the gap between local regulatory frameworks and global expectations. 

We’ve moved from the margins to the center of leadership conversations

But this is also where the opportunity lies. These collaborations allow us to co-create solutions, elevate standards, and push for greater alignment. With the right legal structure, clear communication, and shared vision, cross-border partnerships become not only possible, but also incredibly impactful. 

As a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated field, what has your experience been like, and how have you seen the legal profession evolve in Saudi Arabia? 

It has been a truly empowering journey. Being a woman in the legal profession in Saudi Arabia is no longer about breaking barriers — it’s about building new ones. Vision 2030 has been a game-changer, not only in diversifying the economy but in actively championing the role of women as vital contributors to the Kingdom’s transformation. 

We’ve moved from the margins to the center of leadership conversations. The legal profession, once dominated by men, is now witnessing a steady rise in the number of highly capable, ambitious Saudi women taking charge — in firms, in-house roles, and even on corporate boards. The Kingdom has placed its trust in the potential of women, and we’re delivering results that speak for themselves. 

Is there any advice you would give to other Saudi women aspiring to enter the legal sector or to leadership roles? 

Believe that you belong — not in the future, but right now. Vision 2030 has laid a solid foundation for Saudi women to lead, innovate, and make meaningful impact. Take up space, speak up, and don’t shy away from opportunities simply because the path hasn’t been walked before. 

Invest in your knowledge, stay curious, and surround yourself with people who challenge and uplift you. The Kingdom believes in your potential — now it’s your turn to believe in yourself. 

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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer kicks off US investment plan with first post-merger lateral

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has made its first US lateral hire since its transatlantic merger this summer, bringing in a new head of tech transactions in the States.

Burr Eckstut is joining the firm’s New York office from White & Case, where he has been a partner for just over three and a half years.

The hire comes after legacy Herbert Smith Freehills completed its merger with US firm Kramer Levin this June. The firms have since combined their New York teams in Kramer Levin’s offices at 1177 Avenue of the Americas.

Eckstut, who also previously worked at Covington & Burling and Bloomberg, is a technology and IP transactions lawyer with particular expertise in fintech, including blockchain, digital assets and financial markets..

His hire marks the beginning of a US investment plan to hire around 20 new partners in key strategic areas, with global CEO Justin D’Agostino telling Legal Business that the firm also intends to grow in private equity, bankruptcy and restructuring, as well as technology.

‘The expansion of our transactional capabilities is a key strategic priority and an important extension of our global platform,’ D’Agostino said.

This summer Herbert Smith Freehills announced its last financial results for the year leading up to the Kramer Levin merger, with revenue climbing 4% to £1.358bn and profit per equity partner up 8.6% to £1.428m.

Earlier this year Kramer also posted its best-ever financial results, with a revenue increase of 7.3% to $467.2m (£344.8m), meaning the merged firm is set to have combined revenue of around £1.7bn ($2.3bn), placing it on the fringes of the top 20 firms in the world by turnover.

US corporate co-chairs Howard Spilko and Ernest Wechsler said in a statement that Burr would be ‘a catalyst for our continued growth in tech-driven transactions.’

‘Many clients are navigating increasingly complex deals where IP rights, data, and technology are central to the value thesis. Burr understands these dynamics intimately and adds a valuable dimension to our practice.’

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‘Anticipating problems is essential’: Maersk’s Hugo Cruz Maestri on sustainability, D&I and multinational projects

Maersk’s head of legal in the East Coast of South America on navigating crises, advancing sustainability and beating diversity targets

How do you manage legal issues during times of instability, and how do you ensure your strategy supports the company’s overall resilience?

I see periods of instability or crises as great opportunities for evolution and internal growth, especially in an area that deals with problems every day.

In a large company with mature work processes, the management of legal issues must be organised – you have to have control of data and numbers, have clear KPIs to be followed, and always be guided in achieving continuous improvement, reinforcing the company’s values.

The internal legal department, despite being a business support area, has to understand very well what activities are carried out by the company; its indicators, strengths and weaknesses, market details, and all this as a way to anticipate the risks that could happen, based on the business strategy designed by the company. Effective communication, on-site visits and close contact with business teams are also essential factors to bring technical or commercial knowledge to the legal team.

Of course, the legal strategy depends a lot on the business in which it is inserted; however, anticipating problems is essential aiming at the continuity and resilience of the organisation. The team has to focus on measures that reduce administrative and bureaucratic activities, allowing them to act on topics that can add even more value to the company.

In this aspect and in my particular case, working with internal innovation tools has been a very positive differential for the entire team, as it has brought more fluidity in the legal analyses and allowed us to have a clearer mapping of where we are and where we should focus our efforts.

What significant cases or transactions has your legal team handled recently?

Working in a multinational company like Maersk allows one to interact with different areas, teams, subjects, and transactions, both locally and internationally. As a global logistics integrator, the group’s business includes several areas of activity, ranging from legal advice on a labour issue to participation in significant mergers and acquisitions. We manage a robust portfolio with a few thousand judicial/administrative lawsuits.

70% of leadership positions are held by women and 80% of the entire local legal team is held by women

The legal department has also supported the company in projects for the acquisition and construction of port terminals, which require a lot of legal work. The total amount invested in the acquisition and construction tends to be close to R$2.1bn. In this same line of activity, the legal department supported the business in the renewal of operating authorisations for other terminals of the group, committing to make relevant investments for the coming years, as well as in financing operations that also totaled R$600m.

As we are a multi-jurisdictional team, we operate in other countries in relation to various investments made by the company, either through the acquisition of areas or companies, or through the construction and purchase of equipment for the organic growth of the business, such as warehouses and depots in Uruguay and Argentina.

Other important investments (in the order of R$100m) were also made by the company in Brazil in the ocean, logistics and services segment, with the start of docking its ships in Brazil, and with the implementation of new business units in Rio Grande, Salvador and Pecém.

I would like to say that investing ahead of demand is extremely important for the logistics chain. Maersk’s investments in Brazil aim to improve infrastructure at local ports and our presence in the interior and logistics of the country, addressing its needs. The legal team is prepared to support all of that.

How is Maersk embedding sustainability into its operations, and what role does the general counsel play in supporting these efforts?

Maersk’s mission is to promote a just, inclusive, economically viable, technologically agnostic, safe, and globally coordinated decarbonization of logistics in more than 130 countries where it operates. Maersk was one of the companies that joined the global sustainability pact, and that defined clear targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its activities. The goal is to achieve zero emissions by 2040 and the company already has seven e-methanol-powered ships in operation worldwide, in addition to 17 more container vessels arriving between 2025 and 2027.

The company is also making investments in adapting its port terminals with a view to electrifying them and allowing them to supply electricity to the ships that are docked there, as well as building LEED-certified warehouses, which prove its commitment to the continuous reduction of pollutants.

In Brazil, the company has also been contributing to the government, in the search for the construction of a National Plan for Energy Transition at Sea. In this line, the role of the general counsel is to support all these initiatives of the group, through general legal analysis, identifying opportunities aligned with the group’s strategy and in contact with the authorities.

How does your department promote diversity and inclusion, and what initiatives have you found most effective?

Maersk is a great supporter in promoting diversity and inclusion policies, especially in a historically male-dominated sector such as transport and logistics, with ambitious targets in its annual report. One of them was to reach 40% of women in management positions by 2025.

To this end, it has implemented initiatives such as gender action plans, which seek to create career opportunities for women at all levels of the organisation; exclusive programmes for women aimed at accelerating the development of skills in the logistics segment; and inclusion at sea, which is focused on increasing female representation in the maritime sector, and promoting a safe and inclusive work environment on board ships.

As leaders, we support this great initiative and in the legal department in my area, we not only achieved, but far exceeded the goal desired by the company, where we have 87.5% of leadership positions held by women, and in total, 80% of the entire local legal team is held by women.

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Revolving Doors: Hogan Lovells picks up Paul Hastings PE duo as Cadwalader hires from Katten

Hogan Lovells has bolstered its London private equity offering with the hire of real estate-focused PE partners Michael James and Edward Meadowcroft from Paul Hastings.

The pair join after more than a decade at Paul Hastings, and each brings experience across a range of PE real estate transactions, with James ranked as a Legal 500 leading partner in both commercial property: investment and industry focus: hospitality and leisure.

Hogan Lovells corporate and finance practice group leader James Doyle said: ‘Michael and Edward’s arrival reflects our ambition to be the firm of choice for private equity investors in this space. Their addition, alongside our recent team hires in Greater China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany, and Italy, demonstrates the deliberate investment we are making in our global Private Equity platform and broader private capital offering.’

Private equity and funds practice area leader Ed Harris added: ‘Private equity flows into real estate remain strong, even amid market volatility. Our clients are focused on complex, cross-border transactions in Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and demand for sophisticated sector-focused legal advice is accelerating. Michael and Edward bring exactly the expertise our clients need in this space.’

Hogan Lovells has made a raft of hires around the world recently, building its corporate and finance practice with laterals including Linklaters capital markets partner Phill Hall, who joined the firm in Singapore in April, and Dechert funds partner Michael Wong, who joined in Hong Kong last October with disputes partner Maria Sit.

The firm also hired a pair of M&A partners from Paul Hastings earlier this month, bringing over David Wang, Paul Hastings former Beijing and Shanghai office head, and Meka Mang in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively.

For its part, Paul Hastings has been through a period of volatility, with recent exits including London co-chair Mei Lian, who left for Linklaters in July, leveraged finance partner Peter Hayes, who also joined Linklaters in May, and high-profile infrastructure duo Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson, who left the firm for Freshfields in February, two years after joining from Linklaters.

At the same time, the firm has made a raft of hires in recent months, including a significant buildout in energy and infrastructure, with nine partners joining around the world, predominantly from White & Case.

Elsewhere, Cadwalader has hired private wealth partner Matthew Sperry from Katten. Sperry advises family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and trustees on complex and cross-border matters with a US angle. He will work across Cadwalader’s offices in London and New York.

The hire comes after departures from Cadwalader earlier this month, when the firm saw an eight-partner CLO team move to Orrick in London and the US, with the London exits including Legal 500 securitisation Hall of Famer David Quirolo.

Earlier this week, the firm also lost another four-partner team, with leveraged finance head Ronald Lovelace leading a team to Proskauer in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Back in London, Joseph Hage Aaronson & Bremen has hired construction disputes partner Ben Grunberger-Kirsh from Vinson & Elkins, while Forsters has hired Payne Hicks Beach modern family law team lead Sarah Williams as head of children in the firm’s family team.

Freeths has hired London-based Sushil Kuner as a partner and head of its financial services practice. Kuner joins from Gowling, where she was a principal associate, and she previously spent more than six years at the FCA.

TLT has appointed Amy McConnell as a partner in its FutureLaw team, which offers ‘advice beyond legal’ across areas including HR, regulatory, technology, data, and commercial. McConnell joins from Vodafone Group, where she was head of legal operations, commercial transactions and product.

Finally in the UK, Clyde & Co has hired partners Thomas Jordan and Jonathan Mitchell from DAC Beachcroft into its UK casualty insurance practice, in Bristol and Liverpool respectively.

Over on the continent, Linklaters has hired M&A partner Massimiliano Nitti from Italian firm Chiomenti, where he was co-head of the firm’s private M&A practice. Nitti joins as head of corporate in Italy, and will be based in the firm’s Milan office.

Aedamar Comiskey, Linklaters’ senior partner and chair said: ‘Massimiliano is another terrific addition to our global platform. He’s a leader in the Italian M&A market and working alongside our top tier global practice will help us deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.’

Meanwhile, White & Case has hired George Gryllos as an antitrust partner in Brussels. Gryllos joins after more than two decades as a secretary at the General Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

Pinsent Masons has hired funds partner Manfred Dietrich from Maples Group to lead its funds and asset management team in Luxembourg.

Elsewhere, Ashurst has hired finance partner Ouns Lemseffer from Clifford Chance. A Legal 500 leading partner in commercial, corporate and M&A, banking, finance and capital markets, and projects and public law, Lemseffer joins Ashurst as head of Morocco, with the firm set to launch a new office in Casablanca.

Also in the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth Dubai managing partner and LNG project development specialist Patricia Tiller has moved to Bracewell, where she will join the global energy practice.

Finally, consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal has hired David Hicks from KPMG as global co-leader of disputes and investigations and financial crime practice leader. He will be based in Dubai until the end of February, when he will relocate to London.

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‘I want to invest a billion dollars in a UK law firm’ – has private equity and law’s big moment arrived?

‘A few weeks ago, a former lawyer who is now an investor at a well-known large-cap private equity firm called me up. He’d been looking at investing in law firms and said: “David, I want to invest a billion dollars in a UK law firm, and you’re going to help.”’

David Morley, former senior partner of Allen & Overy and co-founder of strategic advisory firm Dejonghe & Morley, is better placed than most to know just how seriously private equity is looking at the legal sector.

And while PE’s interest in the legal sector has been much-hyped for many years,  a flurry of investment in the past year has added to a growing sense that a tipping point is approaching.

Notable recent deals have included CBPE investing in national firm HF, August Capital investing in Midlands firm Higgs, LDC taking a stake in virtual firm Harper James, and PE-backed consolidator Lawfront snapping up Trethowans on the back of five other law firm acquisitions since 2021.

Further afield, Dejonghe & Morley took an advisory role on a major deal in Sweden that saw PE fund Axcel combine six firms into AGRD Partners, creating a top-ten Swedish law firm by revenue. Axcel has made no secret of its plans to expand internationally, with the UK an obvious next step given the size of the market and the friendly regulatory environment.

‘There’s no question that there’s a very significant investor interest in the legal sector now, in a way that didn’t exist 12 months ago,’ says Morley (pictured). ‘Over the next 12 to 24 months, I think you’ll see a steady uptick in deals, and likely some larger £100m-plus firms coming to market.’

This view is echoed by Lee Minkoff, who heads up the professional services vertical at mid-market US private equity firm Renovus. ‘A few years ago there was a lot of talk about this happening, but not many deals were actually coming to market. Now, investment bankers are actively pitching law firms, being retained to sell them, and producing CIMs and pitchbooks to present to private equity investors like myself.’

Minkoff says he has discussed deals involving firms valued at more than £100m, rising to as much as £300m, while also acknowledging the likelihood that even bigger transactions are in the works beyond his lower mid-market segment.

Others also have first-hand experience of how interest is ramping up. Gareth Hunt, who played a lead role on the Stifel team which served as underwriters to DWF’s £366m float in 2019, says that discussions are ‘happening inside some pretty big law firms with $1bn-plus revenue bases.’

Liam Brown, CEO of ‘new law’ pioneer Elevate – which itself has taken $60m in investment from venture capital firm Runway Growth Capital – says: ‘There’s real money going in — hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases.’

The $1bn dollar question

Outside of the UK, momentum is also gathering in the US, despite regulatory restrictions on external funding.

Arizona has allowed external investment via alternative business structures (ABS) since 2021, and KPMG is the most high-profile firm to have taken advantage of this, receiving approval February this year to launch its subsidiary KPMG Law US as an ABS; the first law firm owned by a Big Four firm to serve the US market.

Despite being restrained by the regulatory regime in the States, US law firms and lawyers are generally viewed as more entrepreneurial than their UK counterparts, leading to an expectation that the market will find a way to open up. As Natasha Harrison, managing director of Pallas Partners, which launched in 2022 with the backing of a litigation funder, puts it: ‘There’s a hunger and creativity – they are a different breed of lawyer for the most part.’

‘Some firms, when they hear what private equity does, say, “well we could do that ourselves.” Yes, but you haven’t, and you’re probably not going to’

Faced with the limitations on US law firms taking external capital, enterprising PE investors in the States are increasingly turning to a structure known as management service organisations (MSO), a corporate structure which separates the business and administrative functions of a law firm from its legal practice.

Crispin Passmore, former executive director at the Solicitors Regulation Authority and co-founder of Kingsley Napley’s strategic regulatory consultancy Stratify, explains a simplified version of the concept:

‘You take a law firm and, in effect, split it in two: the firm that practises law, and a back-office entity that provides services to it. The investment then goes into the service company, which then invests in delivering the back office that powers the law firm.’

This concept has been widely utilised in the healthcare and accounting industries, and while its use in the legal sector is still relatively rare, that is changing, according to lawyers advising on such structures.

‘Everything has changed this calendar year,’ says Nashville-based Holland & Knight corporate partner Josh Porte of the rise in popularity of the legal MSO.

Porte, who is leading on a number of MSO transactions for regional US law firms, says: ‘Some of these deals are really solid middle-market transactions. Significant equity and debt checks are being written.’

Minkoff adds that there are ‘eight and nine-figure MSO opportunities out there. One minority deal got done at a valuation that was rumored to be $1bn or higher.’

Minkoff adds that the use of MSO structures is more widespread than is publicly known, with some external investment in such structures taking place without the lawyers within those firms even being aware.

‘Some conversations I’ve had with law firm executives are along the lines of: if we do this, how confidential can it be? Does the market need to know? Do the attorneys even need to know?’ he says. ‘The answer is no – they don’t need to know. There have been multiple deals completed where public disclosure is very limited.’

The inevitable follow-up question is whether such structures will have relevance for the UK legal market. One comparable arrangement is Broadfield, a platform backed by US turnaround firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), which acquired the UK’s BDB Pitmans as the first member firm of a network of mid-market firms that is set to draw on back-office support from an A&M subsidiary, SHP Legal Services, in areas such as tech, operations and recruitment.

And it is a safe bet that any gathering momentum in the US will have a ripple effect on the UK. ‘The US will likely lead the charge,’ says Ellora MacPherson, chief investment officer at Harbour Litigation Funding. ‘When something happens in one jurisdiction, it’s usually only a matter of time before it spreads to another.

MacPherson (pictured) draws parallels with accountancy, which has seen private equity interest rapidly gather pace over recent years. ‘That’s exactly what we’ve seen in the accountancy sector – private equity activity started in the US and then moved into Europe.’

Analysis from Accountancy Europe underlines the speed at which PE moved in on the accountancy market, with transactions involving accountancy firms in Europe surging from around 10–20 deals a year from 2015–20 to 112 in 2023 and 192 in 2024.

One investor told LB that TowerBrook’s investment in US accountancy firm EisnerAmper in 2021 ‘opened the floodgates’, and since then, PE investment in accountancy has continued to grow in significance, with Cinven’s 2024 majority acquisition of Grant Thornton – reportedly valued at £1.5bn – a bellwether for the sector’s progress.

‘Investors are from Mars and law firms from Venus’

While there is plenty of evidence that PE is taking the legal sector seriously, one managing partner at an LB100 firm neatly crystallises one of the factors still holding investment in law back – a communication problem.

‘I spoke to someone from PE the other day just to see what they had to say. Their line to me was that people of your generation aren’t interested in the future just the here and now. It was fundamentally insulting.’

This is an issue Morley is familiar with. ‘Investors sometimes struggle to understand the dynamics of law firms – why decisions take so long, who’s really making them, and so on,’ he says. ‘They tend to favour spreadsheets and data, but put a spreadsheet in front of most lawyers and their eyes glaze over. It is often a case of investors being from Mars and law firms being from Venus.’

‘Sometimes I joke with my PE investors that they hold 15%, not 51%, of the company’

Major, Lindsey & Africa managing director Maurice Allen, a City law veteran of firms including Ropes & Gray, Clifford Chance and White & Case, also points to a clash of cultures.

‘Private equity is hands on. They tend to look at management and cutting costs they are going to be all over the business side.’

As Elevate’s Brown jokes: ‘Sometimes I joke with my PE investors that they hold 15%, not 51%, of the company.’

For those who are evangelists for the value of PE, one of the key attractions to bringing in external investors is their business expertise. As James O’Dowd, founder of professional services recruitment firm Patrick Morgan, puts it: ‘Many mid-sized firms are still run like partnerships of the 1990s. Investors see the opportunity to better manage cost, upgrade technology, and run the business with the same rigour as a consulting or accounting platform.’

MacPherson cautions, however, that the fear of being left behind might cause managing partners to make decisions in haste.

‘One managing partner has described this to me as “eat or be eaten”. While it may feel like that at times, the reality is the market cannot support that many buy-and-build strategies. Well-managed law firms with strong cultures focused on client service and delivery will continue to grow and thrive.’

Morley believes, however, that for the right law firm, private equity can be a perfect match.

‘Private equity brings expertise to the table. They bring insight, they bring pattern recognition – because they’ve seen this in other sectors – so they tend to have a good idea of what’s worth pursuing. They also bring focus and discipline. Some firms, when they hear what private equity does, say, “well we could do that ourselves.” Yes, but you haven’t. And realistically, you’re probably not going to.’

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Ashurst opens in Casablanca: how firms are betting on an investment boom in Morocco

Ashurst has this week launched its first office in Africa, becoming the latest international firm to open in Morocco, as investment interest in the country grows aheads of it co-hosting the World Cup in 2030.

The firm is opening  with the hire of project finance and capital markets partner Ouns Lemseffer, who joins after 15 years at  Clifford Chance.

With investment into Morocco growing as it cements its position as a bridge between Africa and Europe, Legal Business spoke to local partners about the state of the market and the logic of opening in Casablanca now.

Legacy Allen & Overy became the first magic circle firm to open in the North-African country, with its 2011 launch seen by many as instigating a shift in the country’s legal market.

‘Hicham Naciri, A&O’s managing partner here in Morocco, was the first one to convince top clients to work differently here,’ Omar Zizi, an ex-A&O partner and now head of Al Tamini’s Casablanca office enthuses. ‘Twenty years ago, if someone sold a company, the agreement was extremely basic. Now, [in part] thanks to Naciri, [the market] became a lot more sophisticated.’

Other firms following suit include Clifford Chance and Baker McKenzie, which opened in 2012, as well as DLA Piper, which opened three years later in 2015, with firms keen to follow investors in using Morocco as a bridge between Africa, Europe and the wider world.

‘If you want to supply certain markets, Morocco is ideally positioned,’ says Omar Sayarh, Dentons’ managing partner in Casablanca. ‘Spain is only 14 kilometres away and we have bilateral agreements with the EU and a free trade agreement with the US. That’s why Chinese companies come to Morocco to manufacture products; they become Moroccan products and therefore can benefit from these agreements.’

Morocco has seen considerable rates of foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years, spurred on by a stable political climate that encourages investment.

According to data from the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office, the country has seen a 25% year-on-year increase in FDI in 2025, with Casablanca a hub for banking and finance work as well as M&A. Firms including Norton Rose Fulbright, DLA Piper, Bakers, Dentons and French firm Gide are among those ranking alongside local players in the Legal 500 rankings.

Lemseffer has a broad practice spanning banking and finance as well as capital markets, adding instant expertise for Ashurst in these areas, as well as experience in the energy & infrastructure sector. Examples of her work include last year co-leading the team advising the managers of Moroccan state-owned mining company, OCP, on its $2bn notes offering. ‘Ouns is a very, very good lawyer,’ Zizi says, ‘Very well know for her practice in project finance.’

In her new role as head of Morocco, Lemseffer says she will work closely with Ashurst’s team across ‘London, Paris and the Middle East to deliver the full spectrum of advice to clients who operate or invest in the continent.’

She adds: ‘Africa’s population is growing rapidly, and with the current trajectory showing no signs of slowing there are enormous opportunities for infrastructure and energy companies, banks and investors to deliver and finance the necessary investment to support this growth. Increasing investment into the continent is set to drive further demand for sophisticated, specialist legal advice.’

Commenting on her arrival, Ashurst’s co-head of projects & energy transition David Charlier, said:  ‘Ouns brings a deep understanding of the Francophone and sub-Saharan Africa markets which not only complements our existing capabilities but will also be invaluable as we set up a presence in Casablanca and capitalise further on the opportunities ahead.’

With the World Cup set to take place in Morocco in 2030, international firms are predicting a wave of infrastructure work. This expectation was one of the drivers for Zizi joining Al Tamimi to relaunch its Casablanca office last year, after the Middle Eastern leader cut ties with a local boutique.

‘We’re building railroads, airports and stadiums,’ Baker Mckenzie’s Morocco managing partner Kamal Nasrollah tells LB. ‘The country is undergoing major investments… we’re seeing a lot of activity in energy, infrastructure and cyber security.’

As a result, partners are unsurpised that Ashurst has decided to enter the market. ‘There’s always work to do, M&A, financing and dispute resolution.’ Zizi concurs: ‘The market is getting bigger.’

Nasrollah adds: ‘It means that the market is pretty energetic, and that there are things happening. We welcome the arrival of colleagues – It’s a good sign.’

CC did not respond to requests for comment. According to its website the firm has two partners in Casablanca following Lemseffer’s departure.

[email protected] 

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Ex-Clifford Chance partner exits Arsenal in board shakeup

Arsenal executive vice chair and former Clifford Chance partner Tim Lewis has parted ways from the North London football club, as part of a shakeup of the board which has seen the club install a new chief executive.

Lewis, a corporate M&A lawyer by trade, was made a director at the club in 2020 and held a dual role with both Clifford Chance and Arsenal until he left the firm in 2022 after 12 years as partner. He was promoted to executive vice chair the following year.

In 2007 Lewis advised Stan Kroenke and KSE (Kroenke Sports & Entertainment) on their investment in Arsenal, a deal which led to a long standing relationship between Kroenke and Lewis who became the American owner’s go-to adviser.

Over the next decade Lewis acted for Kroenke as he bought out several other owners who held shares in the Gunners. Most notably, Lewis advised Kroenke on his 2018 acquisition of 30% of the club’s shares from Russian-Uzbek businessman Alisher Usmanov, alongside fellow Clifford Chance M&A partner Katherine Moir.

Lewis became a non-executive director in July 2020. Soon after, the club embarked on a series of financial reforms, including restructuring its outstanding stadium debt with a loan from KSE.

During his time at Clifford Chance, Lewis worked on high-profile deals, including advising Shell on its £1.2bn offer for Cove Energy in 2012, and Madame Tussauds, Legoland and London Eye owner Merlin Entertainment on its 2019 take-private, completed for just under £6bn.

Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke said: ‘We would like to thank Tim for his continued dedication and commitment to Arsenal in a period of transformational change for the club. He has played a pivotal role and ensured we are in a great position to continue to deliver our strategy in our ambition to win major trophies.’

The departure has seen managing director Richard Garlick become chief executive officer with immediate effect, and KSE representatives Kelly Blaha and Otto Maly join the board as non-executive directors, alongside producer and director Ben Winston.

[email protected]

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LB Awards Law Firm of the Year 2025 – why Freshfields is a contender

Of the UK-heritage firms in the running for Law Firm of the Year at the LB Awards, Freshfields stands out as this year’s sole representative from the magic circle.

The firm has been making waves on both sides of the Atlantic, and its recent successes have been recognised with no less than seven other nominations for this year’s awards, from corporate, competition and finance to restructuring, commercial litigation and ESG.

This April it made headlines as one of the largest firms to sign the amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie, which had been targeted by President Donald Trump. That decision to take that stance – led by senior partner Georgia Dawson, who is shortlisted for Management Partner of the Year – set the firm apart from many other international peers who had cut deals with Trump.

Another major development during the year was the move to rebrand and drop Bruckhaus Deringer from its name, while the firm has also poured resources into US expansion, launching in Boston with the hire of Latham & Watkins private capital M&A partner Matthew Goulding on the back of the recruitment of two other senior Latham M&A partners in early 2024.

London M&A partner Kate Cooper described the US M&A team as ‘top of the market’, telling Legal Business: ‘We knew if we could get that transatlantic connection stronger, we could supercharge the growth of the firm.’

And the numbers speak for themselves. While the firm no longer reports its financials in line with other UK law firms, its most recently published results saw revenue up 18% to pass £2bn for the first time, driven in part by 26% growth in the US.

The firm this year handled its first significant US transaction for Merck, advising the pharma giant on the $10bn acquisition of UK biopharma company Verona Pharma, while other major US matters have included advising Google’s parent company Alphabet on its $32bn acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz.

But the firm has not lost focus of its home territory and is, according to London managing partner Mark Sansom, ‘doubling down on London’. In the firm’s latest round of partner promotions, the largest share (36%) was in London, and these additions have been supplemented by strategic lateral recruitment, including bringing in ex-Linklaters infrastructure duo Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson from Paul Hastings.

The firm is positioning itself to take advantage of macroeconomic changes as the ebb of public funds turns into a flow of private capital, and a steady stream of transactional work has driven the firm to seventh place in LSEG’s global M&A rankings for the first half of 2025, after working on 104 deals worth $166.7bn to place seventh, above White & Case, Paul Weiss, Cleary and all of its UK-based peers.

And while many firms are introducing non-equity partner tiers, Freshfields has stuck to its all-equity model as it attempts to retain its identity amid rapid growth – a key reason that Cooper has remained a Freshfield lifer. ‘It’s exciting,’ she says, ‘it feels like you’re at the forefront of something.’

Law Firm of the Year: full shortlist of contenders

Burges Salmon
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Freshfields
Latham & Watkins
Osborne Clarke
Russell-Cooke
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Taylor Wessing

The LB Awards will take place on 30 September – for more information, see legalbusinessawards.com.

[email protected]

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Bird & Bird builds new nest in Lisbon with eight-strong team hire

Bird & Bird has announced the launch of a new office in Lisbon, marking the international firm’s first base in Portugal and further strengthening its Iberian offering.

The new office, the firm’s twenty-first in continental Europe, will open with a two-partner, eight-lawyer team joining from local firm Sérvulo & Associados. The group, led by partners Ana Rita Paínho and Sofia Carreiro, will work across practice areas including IP, TMT, life sciences, corporate, M&A, employment and litigation.

Commenting on the opening, the firm’s head of the Iberian region Coral Yáñez said: ‘Portugal is a key player in the European economy, known for its significant trade activities. By capitalising on cross-border business synergies, key industry sectors, and the success of our Madrid office, opening in Lisbon is a natural step in cementing our reputation in the Iberian market.’

Paínho, who has been at Sérvulo & Associados since 2019, is a Legal 500 leading partner for intellectual property in Portugal. A specialist in life sciences and technology, media, and telecoms, she has experience advising on issues relating to trademark and patents, including in software, e-commerce, and data protection. Carreiro has been at Sérvulo since 2008, and focuses on corporate transactions and M&A.

Bird & Bird CEO Christian Bartsch told Legal Business: ‘This founding partner group is just the start. We want to be a major player. We’re celebrating twenty successful years in Madrid, and we’re very much following that model – growing thoughtfully and purposefully – and led by our clients.’

The Lisbon launch follows a string of recent international office openings by the firm, including Tokyo in September last year and Riyadh in May this year. The Portuguese team is expected to work closely with colleagues in Madrid to provide a unified Iberian platform.

Paínho commented: ‘We are looking forward to opening a new Bird & Bird office in Lisbon. Having worked with Bird & Bird for many years, there is a strong synergy between our client work and the firm’s vision to be the leading international law firm guiding organisations through a world being shaped by technology, innovation and regulation.’

The office’s exact opening date is still to be confirmed, but is expected to be within the next month.

[email protected]

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‘Our growth has been phenomenal, but we’re still us’ – why Russell-Cooke is a contender for Firm of the Year

An eye-catching mix of commercial, not-for-profit and private client work, combined with a deep commitment to responsible business, helps Russell-Cooke stand out in the Law Firm of the Year category at the Legal Business Awards.

With revenues of £56.1m and around 230 lawyers, the Holborn-headquartered firm is significantly smaller than the other seven on the shortlist for the award, but as managing partner James Carroll puts it: ‘It’s great that there is still place in the awards for a firm that is London-focused and full of homegrown talent.’

A turnover increase of 11.3% during 2024–25 means the firm has now seen its top line grow by 55% over five years – all of which has been achieved organically, and tracking considerably ahead of the firm’s growth strategy.

‘There’s no sign of it stopping,’ says Carroll of the firm’s growth, which he puts partly down to the autonomy that partners are given at the firm. ‘People enjoy their jobs; they enjoy being successful,’ he says. ‘And if you let them get on with it, by and large, they thrive and, in turn, deliver for their clients.’

Recent work highlights have included advising CNBC on a new lease in central London and advising urban developer Bloom on its £21.5m acquisition of Poplar Business Park, while on the contentious front, the firm has successfully represented victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster and also acted for Amnesty International at the Supreme Court in the headline-making case over the definition of ‘woman’.

Carroll stresses that revenue growth has not come at the expense of principle.  The firm is one of the few in the LB100 still handling legal aid work, despite the impact on the firm’s top line. ‘If our revenue is a bit lower because we maintain our commitment to public funding, access to justice, and the values we hold dear – so be it,’ he says.

Commitment to diversity and inclusion runs through the partnership. Women comprise 46% of partners and 72% of all fee-earners, while stories from LGBTQIA+ lawyers are shared to foster openness and visibility, while the firm has also been carbon-neutral since 2019 through an offsetting scheme, and this year introduced a firmwide volunteering programme.

The consistent message at Russell-Cooke is that business success and principled action are not mutually exclusive.

In the words of Carroll: ‘The growth has been phenomenal, but we’re still us.’

Law Firm of the Year: full shortlist of contenders

Burges Salmon
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Freshfields
Latham & Watkins
Osborne Clarke
Russell-Cooke
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Taylor Wessing

The LB Awards will take place on 30 September – for more information, see legalbusinessawards.com.

[email protected]

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Top firms advise on €3.1bn IPO in European listings revival

Latham & Watkins, Linklaters and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have scored lead roles as security company Verisure announces plans to raise over €3.1bn in an IPO on Nasdaq Stockholm, a move which signifies growing confidence in the European listings market.

Verisure, which provides home alarm systems, is owned by US private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, a longstanding client of Latham’s.

Latham advised Verisure and Hellman & Friedman, with a London team including UK equity capital markets co-head James Inness, corporate partner Mark Austin, and London corporate co-chair Mathew Schneider. Also involved were PE partners David Walker, Katie Peeks, and Huw Thomas, who co-chairs London corporate alongside Schneider.

Weil is acting as an independent adviser to management at the private equity-backed company, with a London team led by corporate partners Max Oppenheimer and Sarah Flaherty.

Linklaters is advising the banks, which include JP Morgan, Barclays, BNP Paribas, and Bank of America, with a team led by global equity capital markets co-head Pam Shores, who splits her time between New York and London, Stockholm corporate partner Charlotte Levin, and London corporate partner James Wootton.

Swedish firm Vinge is acting as Swedish counsel to Verisure.

Swiss-headquartered Verisure, first backed by Hellman & Friedman in 2011, could reportedly receive an enterprise valuation of €20bn, making it one of the largest European IPOs in recent years.

Latham has acted for Hellman since at least 2013 when it advised on the acquisition of technology company Scout24, and continues to act for the PE house, advising it on its investment in Italian AI company TeamSystem in July. Weil also advised Verisure during its acquisition by Hellman.

The planned listing is the latest sign of a resurgence in the European listings market. Last year, IPO proceeds on the continent more than doubled from $7.79bn to $16.63, according to a report from White & Case.

Several other companies are reportedly preparing European listings, including Deutsche Borse governance and data analyics unit ISS Stoxx. Meanwhile, classifieds business Swiss Marketplace Group will launch on the SIX Swiss Exchange, with trading set to begin on Friday.

Capital raised from the listing will help refinance Verisure’s outstanding debt, as well as to fund its acquisition of Mexican security services company ADT Mexico.

[email protected]

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GC Pulse 2025: just under half of GCs still at the starting line for legal tech

GC Pulse 2025, a survey of more than 150 GCs conducted by Legal Business in association with Thomson Reuters, has revealed that a significant gap remains in legal tech awareness across companies.

While 15% of respondents to the survey are actively implementing a selected vendor solution, and a further 30% describe themselves as ‘advanced’ on their journey, a striking 40% say they are still ‘only just becoming aware’ of the problems technology could solve.

In other words, just under half of GCs canvassed for the report remain at the start of their legal tech journey.

Michael Daubenmerkl, Commercial and Trademark Attorney at W.L. Gore & Associates, emphasised why legal tech adoption matters: ‘Lawyers are regularly among the highest-paid individual contributors in organisations, and expectations around value creation and risk mitigation are high,’ he said.

‘Enabling faster response times and self-service functions are areas where the impact [of legal tech] is most visible.’

The survey also revealed a notable division when it came to securing buy-in for legal tech, both from the wider company and within the legal team.

While one-third (32%) of GCs said they find it easy or very easy to secure approval for technology purchases. An equal proportion (32%) said they found  it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to gain approval, with some respondents adding that management is often more likely to greenlight proposals from functions such as sales or procurement. Eighty percent of respondents said they expect to spend up to 20% of legal budget on tech solutions – up from 68% lat year.

Michael Hartleben, GC at German grid component manufacturer, Trench Group, said that clarity of message can aid those experiencing pushback: ‘What makes it easier is to ignore all other functions and look at a purely legal business case…think about how the use of the tool will increase legal transparency, especially on costs and efficiency.’

Max Freeman-Inglis, head of legal operations at Alliance Pharma simplified the matter further still: ‘Time is the biggest priority,’ he said. ‘…the first metric senior management or the C-suite looks at is time.’

The survey also highlighted the difficulties GCs face in implementing new tech solutions within their legal teams.  Almost one third (32%) of respondents said they find it ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to introduce new legal tech, with the same percentage finding the opposite to be true. This is slightly up on last year’s figure of 27%, suggesting that progress is being made but still highlights the need for strong change management plans.

Demonstration of value and ‘early wins’ are the key to winning potential refuseniks within the team over, said Christian Georg, senior legal counsel at Norwegian company Elkem ‘Those who stick with it tend to realise it has real potential for their work.’

‘‘The more you expose lawyers to these tools and encourage them to use them, the more they start thinking, “maybe this isn’t so bad,”’ added Daubenmerkl.  ‘These tools are already reshaping the profession.’

The survey also canvassed GCs on matters including their top investment priorities, AI usage and investment. It found  that the perception of AI as a reliable legal resource has nearly doubled within the GC community, with 40% of respondents now expressing trust in the technology, compared to 21% last year.

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Further insights, data and analysis can be found in the GC Legal Tech Pulse 2025 report, produced by Legal Business in association with Thomson Reuters. It offers a comprehensive look at how in-house legal teams are embracing technological change, drawing on a survey of over 150 general counsel and senior lawyers. Access the full GC Pulse report here and click here to watch a webinar discussion of the report’s findings.

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LB Awards Law Firm of the Year 2025 – why Taylor Wessing is a contender

Shane Gleghorn

Taylor Wessing’s claim to be named Law Firm of the Year at this year’s Legal Business Awards is underlined by its shortlistings in no less than five other categories, with its litigation, real estate, legal tech, marketing and private client teams all in the mix for honours.

The firm’s strong year saw it move a large step closer to its ‘ambitious but attainable‘ target to become a €1bn firm by 2028–29, with global revenues up 10% to €619m (£526m).

Much of that momentum was driven by the firm’s UK business, which saw revenues rise 15% to £283.7m, with growth now standing at 80% since 2020. UK PEP also surpassed £1m, climbing 20% to £1.1m.

UK managing partner and global co-chair Shane Gleghorn believes the firm’s success is down to ‘focus and disciplined investment in core sectors and practice areas’.

He told LB: ‘Our tech expertise has seen us become the top-ranked firm for AI transactions [based on PitchBook data]. We have the largest IP practice in Europe and we are the most active international firm in the Unified Patent Court.’

Gleghorn also highlighted the firm’s expanding global footprint,  including a strong contribution from the firm’s the Dublin office, which he said has ‘become a market-leading force since it launched in 2021.’ He also pointed to the strategic alliance with Italian firm Orsingher Ortu, announced this March, which means Taylor Wessing now has a presence in each of the five major European economies.

The firm also impressed the awards judging panel across a range of other categories, with its nomination in the commercial litigation category down to its role as as global counsel to Pfizer in patent litigation over the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The real estate shortlisting was secured on the back of successfully advising real estate developer Comer Homes on its planning appeal for the Mast Quay Phase II residential development in Greenwich, while the firm’s private client team has been front and centre of a series of high-value cases, including successfully defending the first-ever appeal in a trust arbitration.

Other recent deal highlights have included advising AI-driven retail solutions firm Rezolve AI on the establishment of its $1bn Bitcoin treasury programme, and advising Vinted on its secondary share sale, which valued the company at €5bn.

Law Firm of the Year: full shortlist of contenders

Burges Salmon
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Freshfields
Latham & Watkins
Osborne Clarke
Russell-Cooke
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Taylor Wessing

The LB Awards will take place on 30 September – for more information, see legalbusinessawards.com.

[email protected]

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Paul Weiss picks up Washington antitrust team as A&O Shearman exits continue

the white house

A&O Shearman’s global antitrust head David Higbee has left the firm to join Paul Weiss in Washington DC, in one of the highest profile US departures for the firm since the completion of its merger in May 2024.

Higbee is joining Paul Weiss alongside fellow antitrust partners Ben Gris and Djordje Petkoski. Between them, the trio advise on matters including merger control, government and internal investigations, and complex litigation, with their experience spanning industries from energy, to technology, life sciences and defence.

‘David, Ben and Djordje are antitrust stars, and we’re thrilled they are joining our firm,’ Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp said. ‘Their arrival further strengthens our market-leading global antitrust capabilities.’

Corporate department chair Scott Barshay added: ‘I have worked closely with David for many years, and this trio is among the best in the business. I could not be happier that they have decided to join Paul Weiss and that David and I will now be working together as partners.’

Higbee joined then-Shearman & Sterling in 2017 after more than a decade at legacy Hunton & Williams, which included time spent as Washington DC managing partner and global competition practice vice chair.

A Legal 500 leading individual for merger control, Higbee previously spent four years in the US Department of Justice (DOJ), including as deputy assistant attorney general and chief of staff in the antitrust division. He will co-lead Paul Weiss’s global antitrust practice alongside Nicole Kar in London and Washington-based Scott Sher.

Petkoski also made the move to legacy Shearman from legacy Hunton in 2017, while Gris joined in 2018 after nearly 12 years at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), including as assistant director of Mergers II. Their hires will take Paul Weiss to 28 competition partners globally.

The moves are the latest departures from A&O Shearman, which had already seen more than 100 partner exits between the time the merger was announced in May 2023 and January this year.

More recent US moves saw securities and shareholder litigation co-head Agnès Dunogué leave the firm for Freshfields in July.

At the same time, the firm has also made some hires in the US since its union, including capital markets partner Michael Kim, who joined in April from Morgan Stanley, and restructuring partner Ned Schodek, a former Shearman alum who re-joined from legacy Schulte Roth & Zabel in New York in May ahead of that firm’s merger with McDermott Will & Emery.

In April, A&O Shearman also announced its launch in Chicago, hiring Mayer Brown energy and infrastructure partners Paul Astolfi and Katy McNeil.

For its part, Paul Weiss has seen a clutch of exits in Washington DC in recent months since it became the first of nine firms to strike a deal with the Trump administration in March. These include former litigation department co-chair Karen Dunn, who left alongside three other partners to establish disputes boutique Dunn Isaacson Rhee, which has since welcomed more partners from the firm.

The New York firm is now building out its ranks in DC, recently bringing in litigator Masha Hansford, who rejoined the firm earlier this month after five years at the DOJ.

Commenting on his move to Paul Weiss, Higbee said: ‘Joining Paul Weiss represents an exceptional opportunity to build on the firm’s already stellar reputation in the antitrust arena.

‘Today’s antitrust environment demands counsel who can anticipate enforcement trends and develop creative solutions. Paul Weiss’s collaborative culture and commitment to excellence provide an ideal platform for serving clients in their most challenging antitrust matters.’

An A&O Shearman spokesperson said: ‘We thank David, Ben, and Djordje for the contribution they have made to the firm and wish them all the best for the future.‘

[email protected]