Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) is to expand its public finance practice and open up a new office in San Francisco by taking on a team of lawyers from Sidley Austin.
The firm will expand its public finance practice by 17 lawyers, with six partners, located in New York, Washington DC and the new San Francisco office.
The hires see NRF take on the entire public finance team of Sidley Austin. Eight lawyers will join NRF’s New York Office and two will join in Washington DC. A further seven will take up residence in the San Francisco Office.
The six partners hired include Larry Bauer and Matt Hughey in New York, Peter Canazno in Washington DC and Jerry McGovern, Eric Tashman and Cliff Gerber in San Francisco.
NRF US finance head Bob Dransfield said the additions would boost the size of the public finance team to 50 lawyers. ‘Their experience in securitisations, healthcare, finance and municipal restructurings in particular will enhance our firm’s public finance capabilities.’
McGovern will join the firm after spending 32 years as a partner at Sidley Austin and predecessor firm Brown and Wood.
The move also brings in Bauer, who joins after serving as co-head of public finance at Sidley Austin. He said: ‘This marks the union of two great public finance teams under NRF.’
The San Francisco office will be the 1,200 partner firm’s second in California after Los Angeles.
NRF US managing partner Linda Addison said the expansion was in an ‘ideal location for our strategic growth’.
The firm recently announced plans to launch a global service centre in the Philippines, a move expected to impact on 170 roles, around 5% of its global workforce.
The firm said it had conducted a thorough review of its worldwide business services model, and NRF chief operating officer Mark Whitley described the move as a ‘tough decision’.
matthew.field@legalease.co.uk
