The lateral hiring market in November was once again dominated by comings and goings between Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis, as well as big moves between Global 100 rivals in Europe.
Just when the market thought Paul Weiss had eased up on its hiring spree in the run-up to Christmas, the firm announced it had hired John Patten, a partner in the London technology and intellectual property (IP) transactions practice of Kirkland.
The move sees the Wall Street giant continue to pursue with gusto the build-out of the English law practice that has gathered momentum in short order, much to the chagrin of the management of Kirkland and Linklaters, among others.
Banking and finance
Paul Hastings has acquired further talent in London from Kirkland, with the hire of Ruth Knox as its new global co-chair of ESG and sustainable finance. Knox’s new role will see her work alongside a range of teams at Kirkland. ‘The true strength of ESG and sustainable finance is in supporting other practices, such as investment funds and private capital, energy and infrastructure, and private equity,’ she explained to Legal Business.
Kirkland fought back with the recruitment of debt finance partners Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea in London from Simpson Thacher. Legal 500 Hall of Famer, Barratt, represents private equity firms and portfolio companies on acquisition financing and leveraged finance transactions, while leading individual O’Shea offers clients particular expertise in infrastructure finance.
The lateral hiring market in November was once again dominated by comings and goings between Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis.
Greenberg Traurig announced that Luke Lado has joined the firm as a shareholder, bolstering its banking and finance practice in London. He joins from Weil, where he spent two years as counsel, following five years at Latham & Watkins as a senior associate.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner welcomed two new partners, Vishal Mawkin and Russell Van Praagh, to its London office, handling debt capital markets and corporate finance transactions, respectively. Having previously served as counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF), Mawkin concentrates on representing underwriters and issuers in cross-border debt financings governed by both English and New York law. Van Praagh left Osborne Clarke after nine years as a partner, bringing expertise in a wide range of sponsor-led and sell-side matters.
Gowling WLG acquired structured finance specialist, Naina Patel, as a partner in its London banking and finance practice. Since 2009, Patel had been a legal consultant for a number of global corporations, such as Barclays, Mitsubishi and Lloyds Banking, before which she was in-house at Credit Suisse, as well as an associate at both Linklaters and Allen & Overy (A&O).
Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) brought over Dylan Kennett from DLA Piper, where he was formerly senior associate, to co-lead the UK venture capital and growth capital practices.
Kirkland hired two partners to start up its new Riyadh office. Manal Al-Musharaf joins from White & Case and advises public and private issuers and investment banks on a range of capital markets transactions. She also brings valuable experience working in-house to the team. Noor Al-Fawzan was the other hire – with expertise in M&A and corporate affairs, joining from nearest Global 100 rival Latham & Watkins, where she had spent only seven years as an associate before taking on the role of partner for just five months.
Disputes
Pamela Reddy joined Latham’s London white-collar defence and investigations practice from NRF. Reddy provides clients with advice on issues regarding domestic and cross-border fraud, market abuse, bribery, corruption, money laundering investigations, as well as public inquiries, internal investigations, workplace culture reviews and allegations following the #MeToo movement.
DLA Piper bolstered its litigation and regulatory practice with the hire of experienced public law partner, Claire Whittle. Having joined from Bates Wells, Whittle brings expertise in advising a range of clients in the public, private and third sectors. She told Legal Business: ‘It was an opportunity to move from a national to a global firm and to benefit from the platform that DLA offers. DLA is on two government panels, and that work is high profile and cutting edge.’
Legal 500 Leading Individual and civil fraud specialist, Andy McGregor, was the first to leave A&O after the partners voted in favour of its merger with Shearman & Sterling. McGregor joined disputes boutique Enyo Law after only 18 months at A&O.
A&O also lost partner Sarah Garvey to Mayer Brown’s London litigation and dispute resolution practice. Garvey boasts nearly three decades representing clients in cross-border financial and commercial court proceedings and arbitrations, as well as advising on litigation relating to transactions.
Corporate
White & Case strengthened its London M&A and private equity group through the appointment of funds partner Emily Brown from Ropes & Gray. Offering counsel to fund sponsors on multiple aspects of their operations, Brown brings expertise in structuring, capital raising, and fund operations, encompassing private equity and real assets. ‘The funds industry is an international one and White & Case is a truly international platform which is rare in the US law firm world,’ Brown told Legal Business. ‘It is an excellent opportunity to build out the funds team in London to be at critical mass.’
HSF hired Eleanor Shanks from Sidley to take on the role of head of international private equity in London.
Paul Weiss lost private equity trio, Jeffrey Kochian, Gerald Brant, and Brittany Harrison to Sidley in New York. They are experienced in dealing with financial sponsors and portfolio companies, as well as both private and public companies.
Real estate and infrastructure
Charles Russell Speechlys recruited real estate partner, Emma Carter, from Freshfields to join its City practice. With over 15 years’ experience, Carter advises investors, developers, and banks throughout the commercial property investment cycle, spanning from acquisition and management to disposal. Additionally, she manages joint venture investments and financings within the office, retail, and alternative segments of the real estate market.
Watson Farley & Williams hired Legal 500 Leading Individual Deepa Deb from DWF to its London office as the new head of its international real estate investment practice. Deb brings deep expertise in the wider residential sector, including student accommodation, build-to-rent, and senior living schemes. Deb said of the firm’s plans: ‘Our aim is to be completely full service and I’m hoping to grow my own practice and to continue to grow and consolidate WFW’s expertise and join the dots internationally.’
‘Clients have been talking to us for some time about how the risk landscape has changed. It’s never been more complex. They’re under more scrutiny than ever before.’ Jane Caskey, Linklaters
Planning partner, James Gibson, left Pinsent Masons for Eversheds Sutherland’s London planning and infrastructure team. With experience working on carbon capture, hydrogen, offshore and onshore wind projects, his addition strengthens Eversheds’ renewable energy offering.
In New York, Sidley acquired new partner Greg Lavigne from A&O, who joined the firm’s energy, transportation, and infrastructure group. Recognised for his prominence in the renewables, alternative energy, and energy transition sectors, Lavigne advises private capital providers and sponsors in diverse transactions. His advisory scope spans tax equity, private equity, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, as well as project finance and structured finance. Lavigne also possesses specialised knowledge in deals relating to recycling facilities, electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and clean fuels.
Tax
Kirkland & Ellis appointed new partners, Ceinwen Rees from Macfarlanes, and James Morgan from Linklaters to its London tax offering. Morgan has experience advising private equity sponsors and alternative asset managers on tax issues arising from corporate transactions and financing. Rees’ expertise in providing guidance to investment fund managers on structuring matters aligns well with Kirkland’s focus on private equity. With Morgan by her side, their addition contributes to the revitalisation of the Chicago giant’s London office after suffering the losses of key rainmakers Neel Sachdev and Roger Johnson to Paul Weiss. Notably, both Rees and Morgan are recognised as Legal 500 Leading Individuals in corporate tax.
Chartered accountant and tax adviser, Bryn Reynolds joined Pinsent Masons’ London office as a new partner from Simmons & Simmons, where he served as a tax principal. Reynolds offers advice to businesses on various VAT matters, including disputes with HMRC and alternative dispute resolution. His practice spans across diverse sectors, with a notable focus on financial services and technology. His previous roles include working as a VAT specialist at accountancy firms KPMG and EY.
Antitrust
Linklaters strengthened its antitrust and foreign investment practice with the arrival of Legal 500 Hall of Fame-listed Bruce Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick rejoins Linklaters after more than ten years at Addleshaw Goddard, where he held the role of competition and regulatory head.
Legal 500 Next Generation partner, Daniel Vowden, joined Mayer Brown’s London antitrust and competition practice from HSF’s Brussels office. Vowden focuses on advising international clients on a wide range of EU and UK competition law matters, including merger control, foreign direct investment regulations, and cross-border deals requiring regulatory approval.
Cyber security
Despite its own struggles in this area Allen & Overy acquired two new cyber security incident response partners, Ffion Flockhart and Charlie Weston-Simons, to its London practice from NRF. Flockhart took on the role of A&O’s global head of cyber security, after holding the position of global co-head of information governance, privacy and cyber security at NRF. The duo advise their clients on issues involving cyber incidents, as well as managing data risks from prevention to response.
HSF expanded its global cyber and data security offering in London through the re-appointment of new partner Peter Dalton. Dalton joined the firm from Stephenson Harwood, where he previously co-led the technology disputes and cyber practice, as well as acted as the lead partner for cyber advisory and incident response. Dalton was previously a senior associate at HSF in 2019.
Risk advisory
Linklaters added Jane Caskey to its London office from NRF as the new global head of its risk advisory group, as well as the head of clients and sectors. ‘Clients have been talking to us for some time about how the risk landscape has changed,’ Caskey told Legal Business. ‘It’s never been more complex. They’re under more scrutiny than ever before.’ She added: ‘We will be expanding to bring together a group of people with diverse and unique sets of skills.’