Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has made a key hire to enhance its international arbitration offering in London with the appointment of Jones Day construction head Hamish Lal (pictured).
Lal advises on high-value international projects in the oil, gas, nuclear, offshore wind, PFI and major projects sectors. Notable mandates include advising a sovereign developer on a series of complex delay/disruption disputes in Qatar; advising the employer on the world’s largest offshore wind farm project; and acting on on the Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project.
Having joined Jones Day in 2009 from Dundas & Wilson, Lal is cited by the Legal 500 as being ‘especially good on delay analysis and disputes.’
In 2014 Akin Gump announced it would more than double the size of its City office with a 22-partner team from Bingham McCutchen’s London office, a move expected to push Akin Gump’s London office into the top 20 international firms in London by turnover.
At the start of this year the firm also made its largest ever number of partner promotions in the City, with three lawyers joining the partnership, in a round of 12.
Akin Gump chair Kim Koopersmith said: ‘Akin Gump is committed to developing one of the world’s leading international arbitration practices. With Hamish on board, we are further strengthening our offering, broadening our market-leading energy practice and continuing to grow our capabilities in London and across Europe and the Middle East.’
The firm’s litigation head Stephen Baldini added: ‘Hamish has established himself among the world’s top lawyers in his field. With his global perspective and background in the energy and infrastructure sectors, he brings a very desirable dimension that few can match.’
Other recent arbitration moves include Clyde & Co hiring Berwin Leighton Paisner’s co-head of arbitration and energy Richard Power in October.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk