King & Spalding has significantly bolstered its European presence, bringing in a further three partners to its transactional group in the last week, as the firm seeks to develop its offering across the continent.
Corporate and private equity partner Peter Memminger joining the Frankfurt office on Thursday (1 September). Previously a partner at Milbank, Memminger joined from his own boutique firm, Bub Memminger & Partner, alongside a four other lawyers. He is experienced in distressed M&A, restructuring, insolvency and disputes in addition to corporate work.
Fernand Arsanios and Alice Mony Decroix joined in Paris on Friday (2 September) from Reed Smith and Bredin Prat respectively. Arsanios focuses on acquisition and project financing transactions, while Mony Decroix specialises in employment issues including staff restructuring and employee collective negotiations.
The three new hires build on the recruitment last Wednesday (31 August) of Richard Kitchen and Amin Doulai from Paul Hastings, who joined the group in London to bolster the firm’s private credit capabilities.
Speaking to Legal Business, King & Spalding’s New York-based head of corporate, finance and investments (CFI) Todd Holleman (pictured), said: ‘Clients are increasingly becoming more cross-border in their operations, requiring both holistic transactional advice as well as stand-alone corporate advice and our strategy is to significantly expand our European CFI team across key jurisdictions and practices. Our recent hires go right to the heart of that strategy, covering sectors such as M&A, private equity, banking and finance, employment and real estate.
‘I think we’re trying to build a platform here that is dynamic and different. Sophisticated transactional work is a cornerstone of that, but we’re keen to offer lawyers the ability to show their entrepreneurial spirit and develop their own business. As such, these hires all reflect that professionalism and ambition to drive the practice forward.’
Holleman was clear that there will be more arrivals: ‘This is an ongoing strategy, so we expect more quality hires to come. We’re keen on further investment in areas such as private equity, finance and tax, among others. Likewise, the focus often goes on the partners but we’re also bringing onboard counsel and associates. We’re keen to have strong growth across the ranks.’
Now may be seen as an inauspicious time to be embarking on expansion plans, given the widely anticipated slowdown in the global market. However, Holleman was confident in the firm’s ability to ride out any oncoming storms: ‘We’ve always been very focused in our expansion strategy and making the right investments at the right time. We’re fortunate that the firm is in a strong financial position so while short-term financial issues are always a consideration, we are always looking at what’s best for the practice in the long-term.’
