Revolving doors: Holiday lull over with spate of lateral hires at home and abroad

Revolving doors: Holiday lull over with spate of lateral hires at home and abroad

In the most significant move of last week, Baker McKenzie has hired Sidley Austin’s former City managing partner Matthew Dening, who re-joins the firm after leaving as partner in 14 years ago.

As co-head of Sidley’s London finance team, the hire is a significant addition for Bakers as it sets about strengthening its structured capital markets offering. Dening will join the firm later this year, and features as part of its wider strategy of enhancing its corporate offering, which has resulted in an array of key lateral hires throughout 2018. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Holiday lull over with spate of lateral hires at home and abroad”

Revolving Doors: Summer recruitment round ends with Global 100 firms hiring in the City and Asia

Revolving Doors:  Summer recruitment round ends with Global 100 firms hiring in the City and Asia

The summer holiday recruitment round officially finished last week, with DLA Piper and Pinsent Masons making significant moves in London, while Eversheds Sutherland  and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan continued the recent wave of Asia hires with additions to their IP and litigation offerings respectively.

DLA Piper announced the hire of construction and infrastructure partner Sarah Thomas, who joins as part of a larger team of lawyers as DLA looks to bolster its practice. Thomas joins from Pinsent Masons, where she had been since 1991, acquiring experience acting on an array of major infrastructure projects in the UK and internationally. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Summer recruitment round ends with Global 100 firms hiring in the City and Asia”

Revolving Doors: Sullivan & Cromwell ends City recruitment hiatus as White & Case lead firms strengthening in Asia

Revolving Doors: Sullivan & Cromwell ends City recruitment hiatus as White & Case lead firms strengthening in Asia

There are signs the summer hiring lull is coming to an end after Sullivan & Cromwell and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) made significant London plays, while White & Case led an array of firms looking East.

Sullivan & Cromwell broke a five-year duck in the City by hiring Jeremy Kutner from Shearman & Sterling. Kutner, who was made partner in 2012, had headed up Shearman’s technology, media and telecoms (TMT) industry group, advising a plethora of major media companies including Liberty Global, Virgin Media and Vivendi. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Sullivan & Cromwell ends City recruitment hiatus as White & Case lead firms strengthening in Asia”

Revolving Doors: Jones Day makes it a brace in the City as Clifford Chance loses partner in-house

Revolving Doors: Jones Day makes it a brace in the City as Clifford Chance loses partner in-house

Away from the headline laterals last week, Jones Day was the only firm to make moves in London after securing a double hire to bolster its finance offering, while Clifford Chance (CC) lost a London partner to in-house in Hong Kong and Hausfeld strengthened in Berlin.

Jones Day has set about reinvigorating its City offering after an exodus earlier this year, announcing the hires of Lee Federman and Ewen Scott who join the firm’s banking, finance and securities practice. Federman joins from Dentons, where he served as a finance partner having originally joined the firm in 2015 and brings with him experience in cross-border syndicated financing transactions, with particular focus on leveraged finance and corporate lending. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Jones Day makes it a brace in the City as Clifford Chance loses partner in-house”

Revolving Doors: City laterals slow as Hogan Lovells lose corporate partner to Dechert, while CC and Herbert Smith make moves abroad

In a lull for City recruitment, Dechert made the only significant London hire last week, with Kennedys recruiting in the regions and Clifford Chance (CC) hiring in New York.

Dechert brought in Hogan Lovells M&A and private equity partner Robert Darwin, with the Philadelphia-based firm looking to strengthen its corporate life sciences group. The London-based Darwin had been partner at Hogan Lovells for more than three years. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: City laterals slow as Hogan Lovells lose corporate partner to Dechert, while CC and Herbert Smith make moves abroad”

Revolving Doors: McDermott leads busy City recruitment round as in-house and international hires dominate

City laterals were active last week in a bolstered global recruitment round, as McDermot Will & Emery was joined by Capsticks and Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB) in making London plays. Meanwhile Eversheds Sutherland was among the firms looking to prise talent away from in-house teams as Kirkland & Ellis and DLA Piper made significant moves abroad.

McDermott led the City recruitment round, hiring structured finance partner Rachel Kelly to the firm’s corporate group. Kelly joins from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where she specialised in structured finance and debt capital markets during a three-year spell. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: McDermott leads busy City recruitment round as in-house and international hires dominate”

Revolving doors: Morrison & Foerster makes City move as Fieldfisher and Reed Smith develop international practices

US player Morrison & Foerster emerged as the only firm to make a significant lateral hire in the City last week, while Fieldfisher bolstered its new Luxembourg office and Reed Smith made a triple hire in the Middle East at the expense of Pinsent Masons.

MoFo strengthened its London finance practice with the hire of Benoit Lavigne from Ropes & Gray where he was a partner, focusing primarily on leveraged finance, acquisition finance and special situations lending. The hire is MoFo’s third London office hire of 2018, as the firm strengthened with additions from Clifford Chance and Jones Day earlier this year. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Morrison & Foerster makes City move as Fieldfisher and Reed Smith develop international practices”

Revolving doors: Freshfields insolvency veteran heads for the Bar as BCLP and 2Birds beef up global ranks

Revolving doors: Freshfields insolvency veteran heads for the Bar as BCLP and 2Birds beef up global ranks

It has been another busy week on the lateral market, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer seeing other departures and a raft of international firms growing their ranks in Europe and the US.

Freshfields’ restructuring and insolvency partner Nicholas Segal will leave the Magic Circle firm after 12 years to start a new career at Erskine Chambers in September after completing the formalities to join the Bar. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Freshfields insolvency veteran heads for the Bar as BCLP and 2Birds beef up global ranks”

Revolving doors: A&O makes New York push as DLA and Dentons add to European rosters

Revolving doors: A&O makes New York push as DLA and Dentons add to European rosters

It has been lively couple of weeks for lateral hires, with Allen & Overy (A&O) making a significant play in New York as a host of firms recruited across the continent.

Hot on the heels of rehiring financial services regulation head Bob Penn in June, A&O has hired M&A partner Stephen Besen in New York from Shearman & Sterling. Continue reading “Revolving doors: A&O makes New York push as DLA and Dentons add to European rosters”

Revolving Doors: Baker Botts takes Kirkland capital markets partner in Houston as Cooley adds tax partner and DLA makes litigation play in LA

Revolving Doors: Baker Botts takes Kirkland capital markets partner in Houston as Cooley adds tax partner and DLA makes litigation play in LA

City laterals stayed quiet last week continuing a recent hiatus while the US was the centre of attention internationally with DLA Piper, Baker Botts and Cooley all making hires across the Atlantic.

US laterals defined last week’s international recruitment round, with Baker Botts leading the way with a strategic hire from American powerhouse Kirkland & Ellis. Capital markets partner Justin Hoffman joined the firm in its Houston office, after spending two years as a partner at Kirkland. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Baker Botts takes Kirkland capital markets partner in Houston as Cooley adds tax partner and DLA makes litigation play in LA”