Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has announced the appointment of a three-partner bankruptcy team from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, with the team joining the firm’s New York office.
Among the new recruits, who have worked together for over a decade, is Mark Liscio (pictured centre), co-chair of the US firm’s restructuring group. Alongside him are fellow partners Madlyn Primoff and Scott Talmadge. The trio will join Freshfields on 26 April 2017.
The group are well-experienced in the US market in advising institutional lenders, funds and investors, acting on some of the most high-profile bankruptcy cases. Recent cases the team have worked on involve Paragon Offshore Drilling and Arch Coal.
Freshfields global head of restructuring Ken Baird commented: ‘About three years ago we as a business thought, given where the world and the markets are going, this is something that really came on our radar. This process has taken around six months.
‘This team had been at Clifford Chance for five years, built a successful business and worked with people that we know in the London market. They really enjoyed the international work and enjoyed the culture of a lockstep firm. That was something that opened the door for them.’
Freshfields US managing partner Peter Lyons added: ‘The notable expertise that Mark, Madlyn and Scott bring to Freshfields will significantly strengthen and expand the global reach of the firm’s market-leading restructuring practice. This established and highly respected team also strategically enhances our US offering, especially as we look to advise clients involved in increasingly sophisticated and complex restructurings and insolvencies.’
In the US, the firm lost securities and commercial litigation partner Marshall Fishman in January 2017. Fishman left for Goodwin Procter to head its commercial and financial litigation practice.
The move follows news six finance partners will leave Freshfields at the end of this month, with two more to leave the equity as the Magic Circle law firm implements a restructure of its finance practice.
Legal Business has chosen not to name the five City partners and one New York partner who will leave the firm at the end of April, including three London partners whose exits come as result of the recent rejig of the Magic Circle firm’s practice. Finance has about 34 partners in London and more than 70 globally.
Two others – one in New York and another in London – are to give up equity partner status in April but it is understood they will remain with the firm in other roles.
tom.baker@legalease.co.uk
Read more: ‘Recasting finance at Freshfields: high ambition married with gently lowered expectations’