White & Case has bolstered its London debt finance practice with the addition of acquisition and leveraged finance specialist Monica Barton from Winston & Strawn. Barton, who is dual-qualified in England and Wales and France, is the third partner to join the firm’s EMEA banking practice in 2022 following the arrival in March of Paul Yin in London and Neeolferr Roy in Paris.
Meanwhile, CMS has hired PwC’s real estate head, Amit Unadkat. Ranked as a next generation partner by The Legal 500 for commercial property investment, he has experience across a range of real estate work including investment transactions, real estate corporate finance and M&A and joint ventures.
Unadkat said of the move: ‘CMS’s strong international reputation and cross-border capabilities present exciting opportunities for my practice, especially global inbound investors who are currently very active. I look forward to working with the team to further bolster CMS’s market position for real estate advice.’
Elsewhere, Osborne Clarke is set to acquire a pensions team from BDB Pitmans, which has opted to no longer offer this service line. David Hosford and Chris Netiatis, who will be based in Reading, will join Osborne Clarke on 30 May alongside three lawyers in London. Current clients of the BDB Pitmans team include billion-pound schemes the Pension Protection Fund, the Local Government Pension Schemes, Imperial Tobacco and BAE Systems.
Dispute resolution and ESG expert Sarah Ellington has joined Watson Farley & Williams from DLA Piper, where she was legal director. Ellington advises clients on crisis management and risk mitigation, with a focus on business and human rights, as well as fraud and outsourcing disputes.
Andrew Ward, co-head of WFW’s London dispute resolution group, said: ‘Sarah is a strong strategic addition to the firm. Her experience in complex multi-jurisdiction litigation and arbitration, including high-profile group litigation and parent company liability claims, will be a considerable asset to the London disputes team.’
Finally in the UK, Russell-Cooke has hired criminal solicitor and barrister Frances Murray, who co-founded the legal services provider Rosenblatt where she led its financial crime department. She brings a breadth of experience acting for corporate and high-net-worth clients in contentious and non-contentious financial crime and regulatory issues.
Across the Atlantic, Boies Schiller Flexner has lost three partners in New York. Head of global investigations and white-collar defence group Peter Skinner will be joining Morrison & Foerster, becoming the firm’s eighth City hire since the start of 2022. William Marsillo is reportedly moving to an in-house role, while co-general counsel Illana Miller is also set to leave. These departures follow numerous recent leadership changes and departures, including the high-profile departure of former London managing partner Natasha Harrison alongside a local team in January.
And in the Middle East, Trowers & Hamlins has recruited new partner Hasan Rahman to its international construction team in Abu Dhabi. A qualified lawyer of 11 years, Rahman joins Trowers from DLA Piper, where he was legal director.