Latham & Watkins has taken a London-based partner from the magic circle again, and this time Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s experienced tax specialist Helen Lethaby has made the switch.
Lethaby has spent more than 25 years assisting clients with a variety of complex corporate tax matters, spanning capital markets and private equity deals, public and private M&A, joint ventures, demergers and restructurings.
‘Helen is one of the foremost leaders in tax in the City and her arrival adds tremendously to our existing transactional capabilities in London,’ said Stephen Kensell, managing partner of Latham in London. ‘Her broad experience across a variety of complex domestic and cross-border transactions strongly complements our leading private equity, M&A, banking, capital markets, and restructuring practices.’
White & Case has boosted its M&A practice with the hire of former Paul Hastings real estate finance partner Justin Jowitt. Described by White & Case as ‘one of the leading real estate finance lawyers’ in EMEA, Jowitt advises lenders and borrowers on senior and mezzanine investment and development facilities, loan sales and distribution, distressed debt, work-outs and restructurings and Sharia-compliant financings.
James Dodsworth, regional section head EMEA M&A/Specialists, said: ‘Justin is a highly rated and recognised real estate finance adviser with a strong track record advising on complex and high-value cross-border transactions…his skills, experience and market contacts make him the perfect addition to further grow our practice.’
Goodwin has made a senior addition to its German tax practice, bringing in Oded Schein from Kirkland & Ellis. Schein has extensive experience of German and international tax planning, and regularly offers tax advice to prominent European sponsors on cross-border private equity transactions.
Erik Dahl, a partner in Goodwin’s private equity practice, described Schein as ‘one of the leading tax partners in Germany’. He added: ‘Our strong firm culture of entrepreneurship, innovation and collaboration will provide him with a great platform as we continue to add top level talent to our private equity team across Germany.’
Elsewhere, globetrotting Kennedys has added another new office, launching an Oman base in Muscat ‘in response to client demand’. The new Oman base will be headed up by partner Jamie Kellick, who joined Kennedys’ Dubai office in 2019 from Addleshaw Goddard. A dispute resolution specialist, Kellick will kickstart Kennedys’ efforts to build a local litigation capability in the region.
Senior partner Nick Thomas said: ‘There are currently no other international insurance firms operating in Oman and we are seeing an increase in client demand as the country’s economy continues to diversify and grow.’
It is the latest in a long line of new openings for the firm. In the last 12 months, Kennedys opened offices in San Francisco in July 2020, Tel Aviv in October 2020, Leeds in February 2021 and Perth in May 2021.
Finally, private wealth specialist Harrison & Held has taken a 13-strong team from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, led by partner Dyke Arboneaux. The group, which consists of 11 partners, one counsel and one associate, will add firepower to Harrison & Held’s US offices across Atlanta, Denver and St. Louis with Arboneaux adding to its ‘international’ roster.
Arboneaux advises on the international aspects of US tax matters and international asset structuring and succession planning. She has a particular expertise in planning for families and assets that are exposed to multiple jurisdictions.
On the team hire, Louis Harrison, one of the founding partners of Harrison & Held, commented: ‘Placing estate planning at our core enables us to serve the sophisticated and unique needs of our clients, providing them with resources and value that other firms simply cannot.’
