Following the announcement of the proposed A&O Shearman merger, news came that Shearman & Sterling had lost two partners to Ashurst in London, which leads the headline moves – dominated by energy and infrastructure hires – in recent weeks.
London-based Shearman partners Sanja Udovicic and Julia Derrick moved over to Ashurst to expand the firm’s global energy team.
Derrick explained her move to Legal Business in the context of an expected boom in the global energy sector into 2023. ‘I expect activity in the global energy sector over the coming months to continue to be driven by energy scrutiny concerns and the transition to a low carbon economy.’
Shearman also faced setbacks in Asia, as partners Anna Chung based in Seoul, and Jean-Louis Neves Mandelli and Scott Baggett based in Singapore also departed for Ashurst. Shearman also experienced another blow in the energy sector as partner John Inglis, who has received recognition in The Legal 500’s Hall of Fame, left for Dentons.
Speaking about his move, Inglis said: ‘I was looking for a final step in my career where I could continue to develop my relationships through a combination of outstanding global platform, enhanced industry specialists and fantastic people who work in a collaborative manner.’
Freshfields had a busy June, having added two partners apiece in its London and New York practices. Derivatives and structured products specialist James Duncan will join the firm’s global transactions practice in London, again from Shearman.
Duncan will advise the firm’s existing corporate, financial institution, financial sponsor, and private capital clients on cross-border transactions, strategic equity solutions and equity financings.
‘I expect activity in the global energy sector over the coming months to continue to be driven by energy scrutiny concerns and the transition to a low carbon economy.’
Julia Derrick, Ashurst
Over in New York, Freshfields announced the hire of David Sewell, a leading financial institution and fintech regulatory lawyer, who joins from Perkins Coie. He represents banks, non-bank financial institutions and fintech companies at all stages of the regulatory and enforcement lifecycle.
High-yield bond lawyer, Haden Henderson, joins the London practice from Baker McKenzie, where he has spent the past five years as a partner. He offers clients advice regarding private equity funds, corporations, investment banks, credit funds on high-yield bond offerings, committed leveraged finance transactions and bond restructuring.
Freshfields’ financing and capital markets partner, Aled Batey, explained the rationale behind Henderson’s appointment: ‘The private capital group is an area of real focus for the firm, so we have been investing in our leveraged finance team across our network, and Haden forms an important part of that ongoing investment. The team has grown materially over the last two years, both from internal promotions and lateral growth, including Carol Van der Vorst in London and Allison Liff and Damian Ridealgh in New York.’
Ridealgh joins from Weil and is sought by private capital clients, including private equities, credit funds and financial institutions, for his expertise on capital solutions, special situations and liability management transactions. He has represented key clients, such as Hayfin Capital Management, CPPIB Credit Investments, Blackstone and Blue Torch Capital.
Shearman’s merger partner, Allen & Overy (A&O), also experienced a setback in the US, as Paul Hastings acquired its structured credit team and hired New-York based partners Nick Robinson and Tracy Feng – who have both spent around four years at A&O – to lead the team, which also includes several associates.
The firm also experienced a loss in Italy. Nunzio Bicchieri, its former head of project finance, has left to join Norton Rose Fulbright as a projects partner in its Milan office.
But A&O invested in its infrastructure and energy practice with the addition of M&A partner Ed Holmes in London. He joins from CMS where he built up deep experience representing financial sponsors and corporates on a wide range of matters, from acquisitions and disposals to restructurings.
Ashurst continued its hiring spree, announcing the appointment of Whitney Lutgen as a partner in its investment funds practice in London. Lutgen joins from MJ Hudson, a management consultancy firm, where she co-led the funds team for five years. Prior to that, she gained experience as an associate in Kirkland & Ellis’ private funds group, working in both London and New York.
Also in the energy space, Clifford Chance hired seven Houston-based partners to join a new energy-focused Texas office as part of its US expansion plans. The hires include Jonathan Castelan and Trevor Lavelle, who both join from Latham & Watkins, Jones Day partner Alexandra Wilde and Kirkland partner Enoch Varner. See ‘Clifford Chance names Cohen first New York managing partner amid fresh bid to crack America with Houston office opening‘ for more on CC’s US developments.
Mayer Brown also made moves in this area, snapping up King & Spalding partner Richard Nelson for its global energy group in London. Nelson has spent time working in Singapore, both during his eight-year stint at King & Spalding and when he was a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills for the six years preceding that.
Elsewhere in the City, finance and restructuring lawyer Greg Campbell joined O’Melveny from Gibson Dunn in April. The firm said his hire would strengthen its corporate finance group in London, as Campbell has deep experience advising public and private companies, banks and private equity funds on leveraged finance, cross-border acquisitions and restructurings.
Paul Hastings recruited respected private equity specialist Samantha McGonigle as a partner. She joined from Farview Equity Partners, a growth-focused private equity firm she co-founded in 2019. Prior to that, McGonigle spent 12 years at Weil and featured in our 2018 piece on female deal stars, ‘Alphas’.
‘There remain significant amounts of dry powder in private equity, and 2022 was another record fundraising year, meaning deals will be highly competitive.’
Samantha McGonigle, Paul Hastings
Speaking of the market trends over the next few months, she said: ‘There remain significant amounts of dry powder in private equity, and 2022 was another record fundraising year, meaning deals will be highly competitive. I also expect bolt-on acquisitions to be popular with portfolio companies as they continue to build out their platform investments, and an increase in the volume of take-privates, given public market uncertainty and inevitable valuation reset.’
Sidley also made moves in the private equity sector with notable hires. The firm recruited Ramy Wahbeh, the former deputy head of Paul Weiss’ London office, and Kaisa Kuusk, a corporate partner. Wahbeh and Kuusk will now contribute their expertise to Sidley’s private equity and M&A practice in London. Eight new partners have been added to Sidley’s London office in 2023 across a range of teams, including laterals James MacArthur, Ed Freeman, Philip Cheveley and Kieran Sharma.
White & Case hired antitrust partner Michael Engel from Kirkland & Ellis. Engel, who is dual-qualified in the UK and Germany, had been a partner at Kirkland since January 2021 and, before that, was at Sullivan & Cromwell for a decade. He advises on the full scope of EU, German and UK-governed competition issues.
Speaking to Legal Business about his new firm, Engel said: ‘The firm is well placed to advise clients as they respond to toughening competition scrutiny and enforcement, such as competition authorities finding new ways to take jurisdiction over transactions falling below traditional notification thresholds and looking at new theories of harm when assessing transactions for substantive concerns.’
Meanwhile, Kingsley Napley has launched a new restructuring and insolvency practice. Leading the practice is Daniel Sejas, who assumes the role of head after serving as the national chair of restructuring and insolvency at HCR Sprecher Grier.
Sejas also brought with him a team of his former colleagues, including Nicholas Hughes, who joins Kingsley Napley as a partner, and Marieta van Straaten, who will join as legal director.
Restructuring was also a focus for Addleshaw Goddard, which hired Taymour Keen as structured finance partner in London. He joined from Weil where he spent seven years.
Keen said: ‘My decision to join was inspired in part by growth realised in the team at [Addleshaw Goddard] both in its capacity and capabilities in the finance service sector.’
Internationally, Ropes & Gray’s Asia head of restructuring and special situations Daniel Anderson has left the firm after 11 years, which marked the end of the firm’s restructuring capabilities in the region. He moved to Freshfields along with a team of associates.
Akin Gump also lost Naomi Moore, who moved to DLA Piper to head its restructuring practice. Moore brings with her more than two decades of experience in cross-border insolvency, special situations, distressed debt and private credit and will split her time between Sydney and Hong Kong.