The past seven days have seen Hogan Lovells make a key arbitration hire in New York, Jones Day make a play for Latin American disputes with a double hire in Miami while Hill Dickinson undertook a double hire of its own to bulk up its real estate team.
In the same week as it made a significant German hire from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, taking senior corporate partner Matthias Jaletzke in Germany, Hogan Lovells brought in New York arbitration partner Samaa Haridi from Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
Haridi, a board member of the Arab Bankers Association of North America, counsels corporations and financial institutions from across the globe in arbitral proceedings. He reunites at Hogan Lovells with former arbitration colleagues at Thacher Proffitt & Wood: Ollie Armas, Luis Enrique Graham, Thomas Pieper and Carlos Martinez.
‘As the demand for international arbitration continues to grow, clients expect us not only to have a deep bench, but also the best lawyers with the unique set of skills, experiences, and know-how needed in different regions of the world and different industries,’ said Daniel González, global head of Hogan Lovells’ international arbitration practice. ‘Samaa, as a recognized international arbitrator and advocate, is exactly the kind of partner we want and clients expect.’
Jones Day found Miami fertile ground for expansion of its arbitration and litigation team. The firm hired Latin American disputes duo Carlos Concepción and Ricardo Puente from boutique law practice Concepción Martinez & Puente as it targets further growth of its Miami office, which, since opening in March 2013, has grown to 12 partners and 23 lawyers.
Back in the UK, Hill Dickinson has taken steps to grow its real estate team with senior appointments in London and Manchester. Jim Garton joined Hill Dickinson’s London team from Gateley, where he led the real estate and real estate finance teams in London while Jim Purves joined from Pinsent Masons in Manchester.
Garton is known for his work advising West Ham football club on its successful bid to take over the Olympic Stadium in Stratford following the London Olympic Games in 2012 and Purves counts delivery group DHL, High Street retailer John Lewis and engineering group Balfour Beatty among his client roster. Garton said that he joined Hill Dickinson ‘on account of its strong property offering nationally and its client list which includes Lloyds TSB Group, RBS, HSBC, Santander, Metro Bank, The Co-operative Group, Iceland and National Express Group to name but a few.’
Meanwhile, there was also movement in the in-house market, with airline Monarch promoting Alison Wilds to the newly created role of group head of legal. Wilds joined Monarch in February last year to advise on the purchase of thirty new Boeing aircraft. Before moving in-house, Wilds was a partner and head of the aviation and finance group at London law firm of Harbottle and Lewis.
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
