Boies Schiller Flexner has announced that arbitration specialist Timothy Foden will become the third partner in its heavily reduced London office, taking the first steps to rebuild after a recent exodus.
Previously at Lalive, Foden has a wealth of experience representing clients in investor-treaty and complex commercial arbitrations in the mining and energy sectors, and regularly represents clients opposite sovereign states.
BSF London partner Prateek Swaika hailed the move as indicative of the direction the firm is looking to take: ‘The strengths Tim brings to our team – as a leading lawyer and culturally – are important contributions to our growth trajectory. We are committed to maintaining a premium disputes resolution practice in the UK and are doing so in a purposeful way. Tim is a fantastic addition to the London team.’
It was also a busy week for Simmons & Simmons, as it announced the double hire of Jonathan Wilkes and Ashley Davidson to its real estate department. The pair join from Stephenson Harwood, where Wilkes served as real estate lead for over a decade, and have strong relationships with clients such as LondonMetric, Longmead Capital and Tristan Capital.
Commenting on the move, Wilkes said: ‘It is exciting to be joining a firm of the calibre of Simmons & Simmons. Its real estate offering is second to none, underpinned by strong, collaborative teams across the funds, tax, corporate, litigation and banking practices. Its pan-European network is also extremely impressive and provides us with an excellent opportunity to better support our clients.’
The firm has also announced the arrival of its first global head of ESG. Sonali Siriwarden has joined the London team from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where she was head of sustainability regulation and policy. She will work across all practice to enable teams to service clients on their ESG instructions.
Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins has snapped up finance partner Tania Bedi. A specialist in bank and debt finance, Bedi has a particular emphasis on leveraged buyouts, acquisition finance, telecoms finance, bridge-to-bond financing, and general banking transactions. Her most recent role was as a partner at Ropes & Gray up until 2017.
At Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Victoria Blanchard is the latest addition to the London office. She joins the real estate disputes team as a partner, having previously works as a consultant for Lawyer on Demand, where she collaborated closely with the BCLP team for several years.
Elsewhere, Dechert welcomed Richard Pugh back into its finance practice. Pugh returns to the firm following an eight-year stint at Bank of America, where he advised on European commercial real estate finance and securitisation.
Said Pugh: ‘Dechert is where I began my career, and I’m thrilled to be returning to the firm. This is an exciting opportunity to help grow the firm’s top-tier global finance practice and to further enhance its already impressive presence in the European commercial real estate finance and securitisation market.’
Across the pond, Orrick has continued to strengthen its energy and infrastructure group with the arrival from Baker Botts of Jeff Kayes and Adam Griffin to its San Francisco and New York offices respectively. The duo bolsters the firm’s already enviable expertise in energy project financings and tax equity transactions and follows the additions of Teresa Hill and Julia Balas earlier in the year.
Following the announcement, energy and infrastructure lead Blake Winburne said: ‘It’s an extraordinarily exciting time for energy transition as political and environmental factors continue to drive demand. We are investing in top talent to support our clients’ strategies, and Adam and Jeff will be key players on our global team.’
Clifford Chance has also added to its US energy offering with the hire of Alexander Leff from Sive, Paget & Riesel. Leff will operate from New York, where he will focus on tax equity transactions.
In Singapore, King & Spalding has recruited international arbitration specialist Nils Eliasson into its trial and global disputes practice. Eliasson, who joins from Shearman & Sterling, has extensive experience advising on disputes in the energy, infrastructure and telecoms sectors.
Finally, Kennedys has continued its expansion into the Middle East with the arrival of Sean Angle from Stephenson Harwood. Head of corporate and projects at his previous firm, Angle is to be primarily based in Dubai and will advise on projects across the region.
