After losing Birmingham managing partner Mark Beardmore to Eversheds last week DLA Piper has announced his replacement plus a double hire to boot, as former Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) partner Patrick Somers joins the firm.
Somers, who was BLP’s Thames Water relationship partner and led its innovative managed legal services (MLS) division, under which it took over the legal work and staff of Thames Water, becomes the second BLP partner this year to join DLA, after corporate partner Rob Salter joined in May.
Somers left BLP in July having joined from Hammonds (now Squire Sanders) in 2005. Before that he was general counsel at energy company Lattice Group, later part of National Grid.
Joining DLA with Somers is Debevoise & Plimpton associate James O’Donnell, who has been made a partner in DLA’s investment funds team in London.
Global head of investment funds practice at DLA, David Goldstein, said: ‘We are committed to expanding the firm’s capabilities across the globe, however, to serve private fund clients globally, a law firm needs strength in both New York and London.’
Both join former Kirkland & Ellis private equity partner Anu Balasubramanian, who joined the firm in May.
Meanwhile in the Birmingham office, head of corporate Charles Cook will now take on the additional responsibilities of office head as from today (16 September), after Eversheds announced last Thursday (12 September) that it had hired former head Mark Beardmore along with Birmingham head of technology and sourcing Simon Jones.
International M&A lawyer Cook has been with the firm since 1997 and a partner since 2001, having qualified in 1995.
francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk