Leading the high-profile moves last week, Paul Hastings has expanded its energy and infrastructure practice with the hire of Alistair McKechnie after a string of recent prominent hires that include Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson. McKechnie specialises in infrastructure finance and acquisition finance.
Speaking to Legal Business about the move, McKechnie he said: ‘There is undeniable momentum at Paul Hastings right now, and it’s clear the firm is on an upward trajectory both on a global level and in London. I watched with interest the hires of Jessamy and Stuart at the start of the year: it was clear they were building something unique in the sense that they go to market as a fully integrated energy and infrastructure practice, combining specialist capability across disciplines, and, crucially, covering both M&A and finance.’
‘Joining a global platform as strong as Paul Hastings, where there is a clear strategic focus on the energy and infrastructure market alongside funds, financial sponsor and asset manager clients, was extremely compelling as it presents a huge opportunity for collaboration across practices,’ he added.
Elsewhere, Simpson Thacher has hired Angus Lennox as a partner at the firm’s London office. He will join later in the year. Lennox moves from Blackstone where he is currently a managing director in its European real estate business. Previously, Lennox was a senior associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Meanwhile, Philip Chong will join Ashurst as a partner in its international arbitration practice in September 2023. He moves from DLA Piper where he was head of its international arbitration practice for Europe. He specialises in energy and infrastructure disputes and engineering matters.
Gateley has launched a collective action practice, bringing in Chaya Hanoomanjee to head the team. Hanoomanjee moves from Slater and Gordon where she was a partner in its litigation practice. Before that she worked in house as head of litigation and investigations EMEA & JAPA at American Express.
‘I considered a number of other firms and Gateley came across as the most commercially minded and forward thinking,’ Hanoomanjee told LB when explaining the rational for her move.
Collective action claims are a rapidly growing area and Hanoomanjee is keen to position Gateley at the forefront of this.
‘In terms of setting up the practice and distinguishing ourselves from competitors my priority is to make sure we have the right expertise. A lot of firms have entered this market without having experienced individuals who have worked on these cases before and without an awareness that this is a separate area of expertise in and of itself. The second thing is to take on cases with a cause. There’s got to be some injustice that we are looking to right.’
Meanwhile, Meysan Partners has launched a London office, its first office outside of the Middle East. Veteran litigator John Reynolds, formerly of White & Case and most recently Avonhurst, will lead the office as London managing partner, as well as taking the role of firmwide head of international disputes. The London office will focus on commercial and investor-state disputes, including corporate and M&A disputes, finance litigation, crisis management, shareholder disputes, fraud and competition, and international commercial arbitration. Reyolds will be joined by disputes lawyer Oliver Green.
CMS has had a busy week of lateral hires. In London, Sinéad Oryszczuk has been appointed as a partner in the firm’s energy and infrastructure practice. She moves from Covington, where she headed its UK, Irish and EU environment practice. Oryszczuk specializes in environmental and product stewardship and has a multidisciplinary practice which spans across the energy, chemicals, life sciences, food and drugs, and industrial and consumer products sectors.
In Manchester, CMS has been joined by partner Michael Buchanan who has been appointed to the firm’s real estate practice group. He advises on urban regeneration development and investment projects, mixed-use schemes and joint ventures. He moves from Eversheds Sutherland.
In the Cayman Islands, Harneys has bolstered its regulatory practice with the appointment of Juan Pablo Urrutia as a partner, who was previously senior counsel at rival offshore Walkers. He is experienced in advising on anti-money laundering regulation, beneficial ownership, data protection, financial crime, licensing, regulatory due diligence, and sanctions.
Meanwhile, Baker Botts has strengthened its global projects practice in Singapore with the appointment of partner Andrew Roche. Roche was previously a partner at Ashurst. He specialises in project finance and developing infrastructure, natural resources and energy projects in Asia and the Pacific.
