Having broken with tradition in making its first-ever lateral hire this year, Slaughter and May has seen a rare departure at partner level, with long-serving tax partner Graham Iversen leaving the firm to become head of Greenberg Traurig Maher‘s (GTM) London tax practice.
Iverson, who joined the Magic Circle firm in 1990 and made partner in 2000, becomes GTM’s second tax partner in London and seventeenth partner in total. He replaces Justin Hamer, who was recruited by GTM from Paul Hastings in 2009, who is retiring from the firm.
According GTM chair Paul Maher, Iversen’s name came up after the London practice canvassed colleagues for a suitable replacement for Hamer, in light of the fact that tax is a critical component of Greenberg Traurig’s practice internationally.
‘We would expect to bring in a few more lateral hires over the next three to six months,’ said Maher. ‘Graham’s a direct replacement for Justin but also part of strategy to grow our core components. Graham has a very broad skill set and there are very few things he hasn’t done. He will have a key role in building our European tax practice.’
Iversen’s exit, planned for November, takes Slaughter and May’s tax practice down to eight partners, with the firm promoting Dominic Robertson to partner last year. Senior partner Chris Saul confirmed Iversen’s departure and told Legal Business: ‘Graham has been an excellent member of the team here at the firm and we wish him every success.’
tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
