Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) has promoted five partners in London, the same number as in St Louis, in its second promotion round since becoming a merged entity last year.
The firm promoted 17 globally, six fewer than last year, although London saw an increased investment on the three promoted in 2018.
The round was also strong for female representation, with women making up 60% of the new partner cohort. The promotions spanned London, St Louis, Kansas, Atlanta, Washington, Denver and Los Angeles.
The promotions in the City will be a boon to legacy BLP’s traditionally strong real estate practice, with all but one of the new partners a lawyer in the sector. The new City partners are: Ciarán Londra (real estate); Giles Pink (real estate); Matthew Pomfret (commercial real estate); Payam Yoseflavi (real estate finance); and Claire Morel de Westgaver (arbitration). Last year the City promotions spanned the corporate, contentious construction and asset finance practices.
St Louis – the firm’s largest US office – received an additional partner on last year, across a wider range of practice groups. Kansas and Atlanta saw two additional partners while Washington, Denver and Los Angeles received one apiece. The firm now counts 561 partners across the globe with 1,400 in total across 31 offices.
However, last week BCLP lost partners in the City, with DLA Piper recruiting Bob Maynard and Caroline Pope to its litigation and regulatory practice in London. Meanwhile over the summer, co-chair Lisa Mayhew was elected to serve another four years in the role, while Therese Pritchard was ineligible to serve another term and is to be succeeded by St Louis transactional partner Steven Baumer.
The promotions will be effective as of 1 January 2020.