Herbert Smith Freehills’ (HSF) corporate practice saw a seasoned trio of partners quit in August for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius’s London arm. They were led by HSF’s head of London private equity Mark Geday, and included corporate partners Nicholas Moore and Tomasz Wozniak.
DWF in August recruited Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s chief of business operations, Anup Kollanethu, in a hire which will increase the services clout of the firm ahead of its stock exchange listing. Kollanethu had made a significant impact at Freshfields, being the architect behind the firm’s combined legal and business services operation in Manchester.
Restructuring star Yen Sum spent little time settling in at Sidley Austin, deciding instead to join Latham & Watkins. Sum joined Latham alongside a fellow Linklaters alumni, finance partner Jennifer Brennan.
White & Case continued its disputes drive by hiring contentious construction partner David Robertson from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and commercial litigator Steven Baker from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The hires continue an aggressive City strategy by White & Case, with Robertson and Baker being the firm’s eighth and ninth laterals this year.
Latham & Watkins inflicted further woe on the City elite in August, hiring two established names in infrastructure private equity. Brendan Moylan joined from Clifford Chance alongside Allen & Overy finance specialist Conrad Andersen.