Allen & Overy (A&O) has continued its US push picking up a three partner finance and securities team from Paul Hastings. The team brings A&O’s US lateral hire count to six since the start of the year.
Former Paul Hastings leveraged finance head Bill Schwitter will join A&O’s New York office and will become the firm’s global co-head of high-yield. He joins alongside high-yield partner Michael Chernick and capital markets partner Jeffrey Pellegrino. The new recruits bring A&O’s New York leveraged finance partner headcount to 12.
Schwitter primarily focuses on high-yield bonds and private equity while Chernick has combined syndicated lending and high-yield bond expertise. Pellegrino advises on high-yield bonds and a wide variety of other debt and equity capital markets transactions.
Senior partner Wim Dejonghe (pictured) said: ‘This strategic hire of three leading New York finance partners demonstrates our commitment to the continued expansion in the US across key practice areas. Our ability to hire these highly-regarded attorneys in such a fiercely competitive market shows the increasing attractiveness of our New York finance platform.’
A&O co-head of global leveraged finance Scott Zemser: ‘I don’t think there’s been a leveraged finance team of eight partners of this level and now 12 leveraged finance partners in total in New York that have made a move like this either side of the border.’
The hires follow A&O’s lockstep-breaking hire of a four partner team in New York in July last year. The team is led by global co-head of leveraged finance Scott Zemser, who joined with Alan Rockwell and Judah Frogel from White & Case. Rajani Gupta came to A&O from Proskauer Rose, while associate Todd Koretzky joined from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy. Koretzky was made up to partner in the move.
Earlier this month the firm announced the hire of Eugene Ingoglia to its investigations and litigation practice in New York. In January A&O confirmed Gregory Mocek and Anthony Mansfield would join the Magic Circle firm’s Washington DC office from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.
Read more: ‘The Finance View – A&O’s new practice chiefs on repositioning the City’s top finance shop’
