Chicago-bred Mayer Brown has bolstered its restructuring, bankruptcy and insolvency (RBI) practice with a double hire from DLA Piper in London.
DLA veterans Michael Fiddy and Amy Jacks join Mayer Brown as co-head of the firm’s global RBI practice and co-head of the firm’s UK RBI practice respectively. Fiddy will lead the global group alongside New York partner Brian Trust and Hong Kong-based partner John Marsden, while Jacks takes on her leadership role alongside partner Devi Shah.
‘We have been looking to strengthen our RBI capability for a long time,’ Mayer Brown London senior partner Sally Davies told Legal Business. ‘Team hires are more successful than individual hires and Michael and Amy have great synergies between them.’
Fiddy built his reputation at DLA Piper as global co-chair of the restructuring group while acting for a number of financial institutions, funds, debtors and creditors. He also served as managing director of Fulham Football Club between 2000 and 2002. Jacks, meanwhile, has advised funds, investment and clearing banks, corporates and insolvency practitioners, while also spearheading DLA Piper’s UK restructuring practice.
Fiddy and Jacks are reunited with former DLA partner Alex Dell, who joined Mayer Brown in 2015 in a bid to enhance the firm’s cross border asset-based lending offering. Dell was one of the pull factors for the pair, while Mayer Brown was familiar with Fiddy and Jacks after being on the other side of the table to the two on various mandates.
‘We have been aware of the reputation of these two in the market for a while and we share a number of clients with them,’ Davies added. ‘We’re continuing to look at strengthening our RBI practice to ensure we’re fully joined up globally.’
It is yet to be confirmed when the pair will start at Mayer Brown.
DLA UK managing partner Liam Cowell commented: ‘Both Michael and Amy have made a significant contribution to our team over the years, and we wish them well for the future. We continue to have a very strong Restructuring practice and are regularly involved in some of the UK’s most high profile and complex restructuring matters reflecting the breadth and quality of our practice.’