Top 40 firm Osborne Clarke has suffered the double exit of telecoms head Angus Finnegan to Reed Smith and technology head Mark Webber to Fieldfisher.
Finnegan joins Reed Smith’s media and technology (MT) practice in London, becoming the group’s thirteenth partner in the capital.He joins earlier lateral partner hires Askandar Samad, who joined from DLA Piper at the tail-end of 2012, and Nick Swimer, who joined in 2011 after six years as head of legal for governance and regulatory at Channel 4.
Gregor Pryor, a partner in the MT team, said: ‘As the penetration of internet and mobile services continues to grow, it’s more important than ever for us to add greater strength to our telecommunications and technology capability. Our clients increasingly require a global service and Angus’ unique experience and expertise complements our established US team and capability in telecommunications. More importantly, his arrival enhances our overall capability in the London market, as we continue to grow our global media and technology group.’
Webber’s switch to Fieldfisher, meanwhile, comes after 16 years as a partner at Osborne Clarke. He joins the top 40 firm’s technology, outsourcing and privacy practice and will work closely with the privacy and information sub-group, which recently saw the departure of Stewart Room to PwC Legal and highly-rated head of privacy and information Eduardo Ustaran to Hogan Lovells earlier this year.
Fieldfisher’s managing partner Michael Chissick said: ‘Thanks to the excellent work of the head of our Palo Alto office Phil Lee, and the arrival of [Taylor Wessing corporate partner] David Kent, we have made significant progress in Silicon Valley. We are delighted a lawyer of Mark’s quality is joining the partnership, it strengthens our offering and will help us to build our reputation on both sides of the Atlantic.’
Tom.moore@legalease.co.uk