Leading the high-profile moves this week, Baker McKenzie has welcomed partner Eric Schwartzman to head up its private equity practice in California, joining from Latham & Watkins.
With 25 years’ experience, Schwartzman specialises in advising private equity sponsors and companies on corporate matters, including M&A, recapitalisations, restructurings, and joint ventures across various industries.
He told Legal Business: ‘Every company is a tech company, and every company is global. Bakers has a fantastic offering on both counts. The firm has a large M&A tech group that has developed over the past four years, and the global footprint is unparalleled. Now the firm is building up private equity and will continue to serve our clients globally. This was very attractive.’
In a move to strengthen its civil litigation practice in New York, Davis Polk has hired long-time Cravath partner Rory Leraris. Leaving behind her former firm after 15 years, Leraris brings with her experience representing corporations, financial institutions, asset managers, boards of directors and individuals.
Also in New York, Cravath faced another blow as M&A partner Sanjay Murti jumped over to Freshfields’ corporate department. Murti’s practice focuses on M&A, shareholder activism defence, corporate governance, and other corporate matters.
Elsewhere in the US, Willkie has hired Michael Li-Ming Wong as a litigation partner and co-chair of the firm’s national white-collar defence group. Leaving behind Gibson Dunn after 12 years, Wong focuses his practice on white-collar criminal matters, complex civil litigation, data privacy matters, and internal investigations.
Back in London, Brown Rudnick has appointed Paul Feldberg as head of white-collar defence, investigations and compliance in the UK. Feldberg joins from US firm Jenner & Block where he was a partner for five years, and was co-chair of the firm’s national security sanctions and export control group and the bribery and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act group. Earlier in his career, Feldberg served as a senior prosecutor at the Serious Fraud Office.
‘My clients are predominantly large multinational corporations, so I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across practices on both sides of the Atlantic and leveraging Brown Rudnick’s strengths from M&A to brand and reputation management. Also, a lot of my clients are based in Europe or have to comply with regulations there, so it’s beneficial that London is Brown Rudnick’s European hub,’ said Felberg.
Also in London, Hamlins has bolstered its employment practice with the hire of partner Penny Hunt, who joins from Bird & Bird where she was a legal director. Bringing with her over two decades of experience, Hunt advises employers on employment issues across a range of sectors, including tech, financial services and entertainment. She has previously worked at both DAC Beachcroft and Baker McKenzie.
Hunt said: ‘Hamlins is a successful and dynamic firm with big ambitions and its client base and industry coverage fit very well with my practice.’
In Europe, after 12 years at Linklaters, Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson has moved over to Freshfields as a partner in Paris. Joining the antitrust, competition and trade team. She brings with her experience in the fast-moving consumer goods market, luxury, waste management, metal and auto parts industries.
In Luxembourg, Ashurst has welcomed Jean-Philippe Smeets as a partner in the corporate team, joining from Baker McKenzie. His experience includes advising on a variety of domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private equity and commercial transactions both in Luxembourg and Belgian law.
Isabelle Lentz, partner and Luxembourg corporate team lead, told LB: ‘We are thrilled to be joined by Jean-Philippe, a well-respected, commercially and client-focused practitioner, and I am confident he will be a great asset to the firm. Jean-Philippe’s extensive experience advising on national and cross-border transactions in the financial services sector is the perfect complement to our existing strengths and allows us to enrich our client offering.’
Finally, Fieldfisher has hired Pedro Claros as a partner for its international arbitration practice in Madrid. Claros, who founded dispute resolution firm Claros Abogados, joins with over 25 years’ experience in investor-state and commercial arbitration, with a focus on renewable energy, infrastructure, engineering and construction.