Withers has strengthened its dispute resolution offering with the addition of banking and finance litigation partner Henry Farris. Farris moves from Mishcon de Reya, where he previously headed its private equity disputes practice.
Speaking to Legal Business, Peter Wood, CEO of Withers’ dispute resolution division, said Farris’s hire fitted its growth strategy. ‘Our international dispute resolution division’s growth strategy has been to reinforce our strengths – and to bring in some selected new skill sets – through recruiting experienced and talented new partners’. He added: ‘A particular area of focus has been to build out a crypto and digital assets practice, which has from the start been immensely active, working on some landmark disputes in the US, UK and Singapore.’
Farris was the standout candidate, according to Wood, as he has ‘an exceptionally strong track record in the digital assets sphere, alongside a broader base of dispute resolution experience in financial services, including in commercial litigation, international arbitration, and investigations. In light of recent market events, such as the collapse of FTX and Silicon Valley Bank, Henry’s skills are more valuable than ever’. Withers team is ranked tier 1 for ‘Commercial Litigation: Mid-Market’ in the latest Legal 500 UK guide.
Meanwhile, Howard Kennedy has announced the acquisition of international construction law boutique Corbett & Co. The move strengthens its contentious construction practice, which is currently ranked in tier 2 in the Legal 500. Seven lawyers will join from Corbett & Co, increasing Howard Kennedy’s partner headcount to 59. Edward Corbett, Corbett & Co’s principal, will join Howard Kennedy as a consultant.
Elsewhere, Victoria Ball has re-joined Trowers & Hamlins as a partner in its projects and construction team, moving from DLA Piper. Non-contentious construction lawyer Ball worked previously at Trowers between 2015-2018.
Stephanie Canham, head of projects and construction at Trowers told Legal Business: ‘Victoria will enhance our expertise across the West Midlands region due to her breadth of experience working on a broad range of construction and development projects, including large scale residential, commercial, and mixed-use developments for both public and private sector clients. She knows the local market extremely well and will be working closely with our real estate team to deliver projects in the region, which is still undergoing significant regeneration and development.’
In other moves, Ashurst has hired Scarlet Reid as a partner in its employment and safety practice. Reid’s experience focuses on incident management, investigations and helping clients respond to safety regulators. Formerly, she worked as a senior prosecutor for SafeWork NSW.
Outside of the UK, Gowling WLG has announced the opening of a Frankfurt office. The office will be led by five partners, and will focus on M&A, capital markets, corporate and real estate. Four of the new partners, Lars-Gerrit Lüßmann, Ulrich Reers, Michael Sinhart and Michael Lamsa join from Taylor Wessing, with Lüßmann and Reers will lead the capital markets team in Germany, while Sinhart and Lamsa will lead the M&A, private equity and venture capital team.
‘Expansion in Germany is an important part of our growth strategy, so we are excited to be welcoming these outstanding lawyers to the firm and opening in Frankfurt,’ said David Fennell, chief executive of Gowling WLG (UK) and co-chair of the international board.
Shearman & Sterling has suffered further partner losses, with King & Spalding hiring projects partner Brendan Hundt. Hundt will join its corporate, finance and investments practice group, splitting his time between the Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices. Additionally, Allen & Overy has appointed Guillaume Isautier, as a new partner to its Paris corporate practice. Isautier’s departure will be another blow to Shearman, as he has been a partner with the firm since 2011 and was the team lead for Paris M&A between 2016 and 2022.
Finally, Keystone Law has recruited six senior lawyers across a range of practice areas. Prashanth Satyadeva, Edward Judge, Andrea James, Sarah Holmes, Mary Geraghty, and Paul Page-Tickell, join from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Irwin Mitchell, Brabners, EY, Starbucks, and ViHPS respectively.
CEO of Keystone Law, James Knight said: ‘The benefits of the Keystone model have been further enhanced by the shift away from conventional working practices experienced over the last few years, and the wealth of talent that continues to join the firm demonstrates that senior lawyers want true flexibility and autonomy’.