Berwin Leighton Paisner’s (BLP’s) head of banking and finance litigation David Hughes is set to leave the firm to join the litigation team at King & Spalding.
Said by one ex-BLP partner to be a ‘big hitting litigator’, Hughes specialises in asset recovery (including ships and aircrafts) and security enforcement involving complicated capital markets products, as well as the enforcement of bond structures and ISDA contracts. He also advises clients in relation to investigating fraud, financial irregularities and money laundering issues.
The banking litigation team at BLP is currently acknowledged by the Legal 500 as ‘excellent, particularly in terms of commercial awareness and appropriateness of advice.’
Hughes, who was previously national head of banking and finance litigation at DLA Piper between 1992 and 2005, is the latest in a series of lateral hires to King & Spalding’s London litigation team, following the arrival of Steptoe & Johnson’s Russia and CIS group co-head Egishe Dzhazoyan; fellow Steptoe partner Tom Sprange, and Bird & Bird duo Jane Player and Sarah Walker.
Hughes is also the latest high profile partner resignation from beleaguered BLP, following just weeks after real estate finance duo Andrew Flemming and Jo Solomon announced their departure for Hogan Lovells.
Those exits shortly follow BLP’s head of real estate finance Laurence Rogers’ resignation for DLA Piper alongside commercial real estate partner Richard Hopkinson-Woolley and corporate tax partner Neville Wright, who join former BLP corporate partner Patrick Somers.
Other recent departures from the top 20 UK firm include banking and capital markets partner Paul Simcock and former head of restructuring Ben Larkin, who joined Jones Day in March and February respectively; and acquisition finance partner Marcus Jamson, who joined Wedlake Bell in January.
A statement from King & Spalding today (16 April) said: ‘King & Spalding is continually on the lookout for talented lawyers whose careers and experience make them a good fit at the firm. Naturally, from time to time, we engage in direct discussions with these lawyers. However, as a matter of policy any such discussion is private, and we comment only when there is an official announcement.’
Update: BLP on 17 April announced the promotion of Oliver Glynn-Jones, a partner in the commercial dispute resolution group, to head of BLP’s banking litigation practice, effective 1 May 2014.
A statement from BLP said: ‘Oliver is currently acting in a number of significant and market leading cases for global investment banks including, for instance, issues resulting from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, including the Eurosail case which recently went to the Supreme Court, as well as acting for a number of other parties in securitisation programmes in resolving similar issues.’
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
