In another muted patch for City laterals, Simmons & Simmons and CMS were the only firms to hire in London last week as Gibson Dunn & Crutcher recruited to its employment bench and HFW hired in Hong Kong.
Simmons has added to its international banking practice with the hire of Kirsty Barnes, Gowling WLG’s head of banking and finance in the UK. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Simmons and CMS make City banking and pensions hires as Gibson Dunn bolsters its Paris bench”
The expansive Goodwin has leveraged its recent four-strong band of life sciences and technology laterals from Taylor Wessing to open a new office in the UK’s innovation hub, Cambridge.
The move follows Goodwin’s hire of a Taylor Wessing team including Malcolm Bates, David Mardle, Tim Worden and Adrian Rainey as part of its strategy to build out its City technology and life sciences bench. Continue reading “Goodwin makes good on Taylor Wessing hires with Cambridge office opening”
Proskauer and TLT have added to their funds and banking practices in what was a quiet week generally for City lateral hires.
Proskauer has hired regulatory specialist Kirsten Lapham to its global private funds practice. She joins the firm’s London office as partner from Ropes & Gray where she was counsel in the asset management group. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Proskauer and TLT hire in the City as Clydes insurance head retires”
Eversheds Sutherland is ramping up its City investment plans as the firm looks to become a leading player in the global upper mid-market corporate space.
The firm said today (4 November) it had hired the former head of UK corporate at Simmons & Simmons, Giles Dennison (pictured), in London. Dennison was a Simmons lifer, becoming partner in 2005 before heading the corporate team since 2012. Continue reading “Rolling up the sleeves: Eversheds sets out corporate ambitions with hire of Simmons’ UK corporate head”
Paul Hastings is shutting up shop in Milan as its office head leaves for a US rival while K&L Gates has seen an exodus of partners in Australia.
Bruno Cova has been a corporate partner at Paul Hastings for over 14 years and currently chairs the firm’s operation in Milan. However, Cova is set to leave the firm for Studio Legale Delfino e Associati Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Though the hires have not yet been finalised, Cova is expected to join alongside litigation partner Francesca Petronio. Continue reading “Paul Hastings withdraws from Milan as K&L Gates loses eight-partner employment team in Australia”
Leading US firms continue to dominate the London recruitment market with significant appointments from the Magic Circle, as Weil, Gotshal & Manges hired Linklaters’ highly-rated M&A partner David Avery-Gee (pictured) shortly after Allen & Overy (A&O) saw corporate pair Simon Toms and George Knighton jump ship to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
The hire of Avery-Gee is a coup for Weil, which has struggled against more potent US rivals in recent years in London. The office has had setbacks in corporate, including the loss of London managing partner Mike Francies’ protégé Samantha McGonigle, who left after 13 years to co-found a growth fund in February. Continue reading “Double blow for Magic Circle as US leaders Weil and Skadden secure M&A veterans”
Allen & Overy (A&O) suffered another significant loss with the departure of litigation partner Marc Florent to Baker McKenzie. Florent is experienced in banking disputes, particularly in the wholesale and retail banking areas, asset management, funds and sponsors on cross-border matters. A&O also lost its head of fraud Mona Vaswani to US rival Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Alston & Bird launched a City branch, hiring three partners for its UK finance and payments practices. Andrew Petersen joins from K&L Gates where he was head of the finance practice, alongside fellow finance partner James Spencer. The pair have worked together on real estate private equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities deals, restructuring, and debt and equity workouts. James Ashe-Taylor, former head of European antitrust at US boutique Constantine Cannon, also joins the new City office. Continue reading “Significant hires”
City lateral recruitment picked up pace again last week as DLA Piper won back a real estate partner from Proskauer Rose, Macfarlanes hired for its financial services team and Dentons strengthened its employment bench.
Joanne Owen rejoined her old firm DLA after a three and a half-year stint in Proskauer’s City corporate team, having previously worked at DLA for nearly 20 years. She advises on institutional and corporate property matters and cross-border corporate real estate transactions. She has acted for leading private equity houses, sovereign wealth funds and private high net worth investors. Continue reading “Revolving doors: DLA wins back Proskauer real estate partner as Macfarlanes and Dentons make City hires”
In what it hopes will signal a breakthrough for its US business, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has secured the hire of a four-partner M&A team in Wall Street from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
The hire of the team – led by prominent M&A veteran Ethan Klingsberg and including partners Meredith Kotler, Pamela Marcogliese and Paul Tiger – will be seen as a trophy acquisition for Freshfields’ US corporate offering, which has struggled to gain momentum in recent years. Continue reading “Freshfields secures trophy four-partner US deal team as debate over leadership continues”
Allen & Overy (A&O) has suffered a fresh blow to its transatlantic aspirations following its failed US merger as two key leveraged finance partners depart for Shearman & Sterling.
Alan Rockwell and Michael Chernick are leaving A&O’s New York office for the US firm just a month after A&O lost well-respected London corporate partners Simon Toms and George Knighton to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. That blow came only 10 days after the Magic Circle firm’s long-winded merger talks with O’Melveny & Meyers came to nothing and was widely viewed as collateral damage from the failed tie-up. Continue reading “A&O’s transatlantic woes continue as New York leveraged finance pair quit for Shearman”
