Revolving Doors: More hires in Houston as London’s energy, employment and corporate sectors witness key moves

Revolving Doors: More hires in Houston as London’s energy, employment and corporate sectors witness key moves

Leading the high-profile moves this week, Baker McKenzie has recruited Allen & Overy partner Fernando Torrente to head up its M&A and capital markets practice in Madrid. Torrente currently leads A&O’s corporate, M&A and capital markets practice and has built a strong track record spanning three decades in takeovers, IPOs, flotations, and other equity financing structures.

Meanwhile, Clifford Chance has revealed the name of the sixth partner to join its recently opened Houston office. Partner David Sweeney joins after spending six years at Akin Gump, acting for clients on M&A, energy finance transactions and operational matters across the globe. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: More hires in Houston as London’s energy, employment and corporate sectors witness key moves”

Revolving Doors: Global 100 firms lead on international hires

Revolving Doors: Global 100 firms lead on international hires

There was a strong international slant to last week’s round of lateral partner appointments, with firms making key hires in the US, UAE, Australia, and Hong Kong.

In the US, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has hired a six-partner team of IP lawyers, led by Song Jung, alongside corporate partner Jeffrey Haidet from Dentons. Jung joins as global chair of patents, having previously founded the global intellectual property and technology group at Dentons. Standout matters for Jung include advising on the G Chem v SKI trade secrets case, which was settled for $1.8bn. Haidet was Dentons’ US chair, and advises national and multinational companies on financial structuring, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, transactions, strategic alliances, and industry consolidation. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Global 100 firms lead on international hires”

Revolving doors: Freshfields unveils multiple hires in US amid busy week for London firms

Revolving doors: Freshfields unveils multiple hires in US amid busy week for London firms

Amid a hectic start to June for lateral hiring, Freshfields has had a busy week, having added four new partners to both its London and New York practices. Derivatives and structured products specialist James Duncan will join the firm’s global transactions practice in London from Shearman & Sterling, following the news of its merger with A&O.

Duncan will advise the firm’s existing corporate, financial institution, financial sponsor, and private capital clients on cross-border transactions, strategic equity solutions and equity financings. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Freshfields unveils multiple hires in US amid busy week for London firms”

Revolving Doors: US firms continue hiring spree as Reed Smith and Sidley make moves on rivals in London

Revolving Doors: US firms continue hiring spree as Reed Smith and Sidley make moves on rivals in London

It’s been a busy week for US firms in London as they continue to exercise their hiring power, with several lateral moves across private equity, IP and financial services.

Reed Smith has bolstered its corporate practice with the hire of private equity partner François Feuillat, who moves from Willkie Farr & Gallagher and works across the energy, infrastructure, industrial and technology sectors. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: US firms continue hiring spree as Reed Smith and Sidley make moves on rivals in London”

Revolving Doors: Partners exit Shearman and A&O as merger is announced

Revolving Doors: Partners exit Shearman and A&O as merger is announced

During a busy week with the announcement of the A&O Shearman merger, news came that Shearman & Sterling has lost five partners to Ashurst in both the UK and Asia – around the same time the planned tie-up was made public.

London-based Shearman partners Sanja Udovicic and Julia Derrick have moved over to Ashurst to expand the firm’s global energy team along with three others based in South Korea and Singapore. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Partners exit Shearman and A&O as merger is announced”

Revolving Doors: International firms bolster teams in life sciences, litigation and energy

Revolving Doors: International firms bolster teams in life sciences, litigation and energy

Cooley has bolstered its London corporate and life sciences practice through its acquisition of new partner Simon Amies, ending an impressive 21-year stretch at Covington & Burling.  Amies advises a variety of clients, including investors, investment banks and companies in the technology and life sciences space on M&A, IPOs and capital transactions.

Amies explained the rationale behind his move: ‘I have been really impressed with how Cooley in London has developed since its launch in 2015. The firm has built an exceptionally strong technology and life sciences platform, and my practice of supporting innovative life sciences companies through their lifecycle fits perfectly as this in the DNA of the firm.’ Continue reading “Revolving Doors: International firms bolster teams in life sciences, litigation and energy”

Revolving Doors: Africa and Middle East focus for international firms as energy dominates agenda again 

Revolving Doors: Africa and Middle East focus for international firms as energy dominates agenda again 

 The energy sector was the focus again for a number of London firms amid a busy round of hires last week, as were the Middle East and Africa regions. 

International dispute resolution partner and chartered arbitrator Philip Norman has left Clyde & Co for CMS, where he will join the firm’s infrastructure, construction and energy (ICE) disputes team. He will work from the London office, and will maintain his focus on the Middle East and Africa.   Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Africa and Middle East focus for international firms as energy dominates agenda again “

Revolving Doors: energy hires dominate as Global London firms bolster ranks in London and Asia

Revolving Doors: energy hires dominate as Global London firms bolster ranks in London and Asia

Leading the high-profile moves this week, Dentons has expanded its finance practice in London with the hire of partner John Inglis from a depleted Shearman & Sterling.

He brings with him more than 30 years’ experience in energy and infrastructure project development and finance across multiple jurisdictions. He was previously a partner at Shearman, where he spent over a decade and received recognition in the Legal 500s Hall of Fame. Inglis has also served as a partner at Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: energy hires dominate as Global London firms bolster ranks in London and Asia”

Revolving Doors: Goodwin elects new chair as firms add regulatory, M&A, litigation and IP expertise

Revolving Doors: Goodwin elects new chair as firms add regulatory, M&A, litigation and IP expertise

In a novel lateral move, Fieldfisher has announced that cannabis regulatory pioneer Robert Jappie is joining its London regulatory team this month.

Jappie established the first department dedicated to cannabis law in the UK at previous firm Mackrell Turner Garrett in 2018. While in this position, Jappie advised CBD brands, licensed producers and medicinal cannabis companies on regulatory and commercial issues in the UK and Europe. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Goodwin elects new chair as firms add regulatory, M&A, litigation and IP expertise”

Revolving doors: Another departure from Shearman as firms make moves in finance and real estate

Revolving doors: Another departure from Shearman as firms make moves in finance and real estate

Debt finance specialist Rahul Chatterji became the latest partner to leave Shearman & Sterling this week, with Linklaters announcing that he will join its Asia banking practice in May. Chatterji has experience in cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on India and Southeast Asia. He will move first to Linklaters’ London office, before relocating to Singapore later in the year.

The week also saw a flurry of hires in the real estate sector, with Legal 500 leading individual and disputes specialist Owen Talfan Davies moving to Withers from Fieldfisher, where he was a senior equity partner.

Jeremy Wakeham, head of the business division at Withers, explained the hire to Legal Business: ‘We’ve been looking to really grow our real estate disputes expertise. To do that, we wanted a heavy-hitting property disputes partner who could cover the whole gamut of real estate disputes, with a background in the bigger-ticket commercial disputes arena. And that’s what we have in Owen.’

The move follows the firm’s December hire of a team from Charles Russell Speechlys, led by partners Simon Ewing and Ruby Dalal, and further bolsters its real estate practice on the contentious side, which Wakeham believes will be increasingly busy.

‘You’re going to see more landlord and tenant disputes as tenants are going to look to reassess their requirements, and landlords look to shore up the investment value of their assets.’

Herbert Smith Freehills, meanwhile, has hired Ashurst’s head of non-contentious construction Matthew Bool into its real estate team. Recognised as a next-generation partner in the Legal 500, Bool has experience advising on procurement strategy, construction and property documentation, and development projects.

Elsewhere, transactional real estate partner Sarah Atkinson has joined Addleshaw Goddard from Greenberg Traurig. Atkinson has expertise in private equity transactions, including development finance and bond leaseback work. Her move follows the 2021 hire of Daniel Woolston, also from Greenberg Traurig, and Catherine Williams’ return to the firm in March after eight years at Shoosmiths.

Howard Kennedy has also grown its real estate practice with the hire of Huseyin Huseyin from Harold Benjamin. Huseyin’s practice sees him advise housebuilders and developers on residential mixed-use projects on greenfield and brownfield sites, and his hire signals the firm’s intention to expand in residential real estate.

Also in real estate, former Maples Teesdale real estate finance head Rohan Campbell has moved to Burges Salmon, along with of counsel Tom Farrell, who joins the firm as a legal director.

‘The chance to plug a pair of really good real estate finance lawyers into our wider built environment sector practice was a significant driver,’ banking and finance team lead Andrew Eaton told Legal Business.

‘There’s a big opportunity for us, particularly in the mid-market. Last year there was a big bump in deal flow, and we’re starting to see that come back. There’s still a desire on the part of clients to look for opportunities.’

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has also made moves in the area, expanding its corporate real estate and funds team with the hire of cross-border transactional specialist Luke Mines from Morrison Foerster.

Mines spent time at Linklaters and Reed Smith before moving to Morrison Foerster in 2019, and has experience advising clients both domestically and across Europe, where BCLP has extended its coverage in recent years, opening a French office in 2020 and building up in Germany in 2022.

‘Certainly the French and German offering here was a real draw to me’, said Mines. UK real estate group head Samant Narula echoed this point, and stressed the firm’s continued focus on real estate despite economic turmoil. ‘Volatility in the debt markets has meant that the volume of transactional work has decreased. But we’ve been in a good position because of our broad client base, who continue to be active in asset management and development. We know there’s a lot of money out there, ready to invest. So the key is patience. When the opportunities arise, clients will do deals.’

Elsewhere, Irwin Mitchell has hired commercial litigation and arbitration partner David Vaughan from Collyer Bristow. Previously head of both the litigation practice and the London office at Shakespeare Martineau, Vaughan is a chartered arbitrator with strong experience in multijurisdictional disputes.

Legal director Steve Downey has left Squire Patton Boggs to join TLT’s structured finance practice as a partner, which expanded in December with the hire of new team co-lead Mark Thomas, who also joined from Squire Patton Boggs.

Dechert has also continued to grow its global finance practice, bringing over structured finance specialist Aaron Scott from Paul Hastings. Scott has experience advising on matters relating to collateralised loan obligations, and his hire extends Dechert’s European offering, which also expanded in Munich with the hire of private equity partner Kai Terstiege from WilmerHale.

Finally, commercial outsourcing and tech partner Nathan Evans has moved from Harrison Clark Rickerbys to Fladgate, where he will extend its tech sector offering. Evans has experience advising clients from startups to established companies in areas including legal tech, fintech, and trade tech, on issues including digital transformation, platform development, and system support.

alex.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk