Goodwin Procter and Eversheds Sutherland both made significant corporate hires in November, with the pair recruiting Kirkland & Ellis partner Carl Bradshaw and Simmons & Simmons former head of UK corporate Giles Dennison respectively.
For Goodwin, the hire of Bradshaw comes during an expansive period for the firm, particularly in private equity. He brings nine years of experience from Kirkland – four of which were as partner – and a practice that focuses on cross-border private equity deals; leveraged buyouts; carve-outs; public-to-privates; consortium deals; and co-investments.
‘In 2015, Goodwin was not doing private equity in London and now we have 60 people doing PE across deals, funds and debt, with additional teams in Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg,’ London partner Richard Lever told Legal Business. ‘From nowhere we’ve come to this position and Carl’s hire is part of a strategy to grow our private equity team.’
Bradshaw’s arrival is only the latest boon to a London office firing on all cylinders. In 2018, City revenue grew 58% at Goodwin, more than three times the pace of the firm globally, hitting $66.8m. Global turnover grew 16% to $1.2bn by comparison.
Meanwhile, in Europe the firm’s lawyer headcount has expanded considerably, growing from 20 to nearly 200 in the last five years. The growth has primarily come in the technology, life sciences, private equity and real estate industries. ‘We want more partners,’ Lever added. ‘Carl is an energetic guy who can help grow our London business.’
‘From nowhere we’ve come to this position and Carl’s hire is part of a strategy to grow our private equity team.’
Richard Lever, Goodwin Procter
Elsewhere, Eversheds’ hire comes as the firm looks to strengthen its credentials in the upper-mid-market corporate space. Dennison was a lifer at Simmons, having made partner in 2005, and went on to lead the corporate team from 2012. Dennison’s client base includes UK and US corporates from the TMT, consumer, diversified industry and healthcare sectors – all of which could be boosted by Eversheds’ US presence.
‘Giles has really hit the ground running,’ Eversheds co-head of global corporate and M&A Richard Moulton told Legal Business. ‘The hire is part of a strategy and push for quality additions to our upper-mid-market M&A offering.’
Dennison is the second corporate partner hire in London in the last year for Eversheds, following the arrival of Stewart Womersley from Addleshaw Goddard last November. The practice now boasts 18 partners in the City, though Moulton hopes to expand to 25 partners over the next four years.
The hire also comes off the back of a busy year of deals at Eversheds. Highlights have included advising Dairy Crest on its £975m sale to Canadian dairy company Saputo and advising the shareholders of John Guest Holdings on its £687m sale to Reliance Worldwide Corporation.
‘I can safely say, as a practice, irrespective of Brexit and other headwinds, we have had as strong a set of half-year results as we have had in the last ten years,’ Moulton concluded.