‘Ultra-focused on culture and hungry to build’ – McDermott’s new London head sets out stall

Earlier this month McDermott Will & Emery announced that leveraged finance partner Aymen Mahmoud will take the reins from Hamid Yunis as managing partner of the US firm’s London office. Mahmoud (pictured), who has been at the firm since 2020 after joining from Willkie Farr & Gallagher, will take the helm on 1 June, while …

‘Your mindset is more important than it seems’ – how Maxwell Chambers shook up Singapore’s disputes landscape

Jiun Ean Ban, chief executive of Maxwell Chambers in Singapore, recently sat down with Legal 500 senior research editor Allan Cohen to share the story of his journey to his current position, as well as the latest developments from Maxwell Chambers, the influence of technology in disputes, and his sideline in fantasy novels and educational …

‘I have this condition, and I’m owning it’: HSF’s Samantha Brown on managing mental ill health alongside a legal career

For Mental Health Awareness Week, Samantha Brown, partner and regional head of Herbert Smith Freehill’s employment, pensions, and incentives group, spoke to LB about her own experiences with anxiety and depression, lessons from returning to work after taking time off, and how attitudes and language around mental health have changed for the better

Bird & Bird to launch in Tokyo with Ashurst corporate hire as firm sets sights on €1bn revenue mark

Bird & Bird has announced it will open in Tokyo before the end of the year, with the new base set to be led by corporate partner Hiro Iwamura, who is joining from Ashurst. The launch marks the first significant move for the firm since February’s unveiling of its new five-year strategy – which includes …

Travers departures continue as Linklaters and Fried Frank pick off transactional trio

In another blow for Travers Smith, respected corporate M&A and ECM partner Richard Spedding has left to join Linklaters, on the back of the departure of a private equity duo to Goodwin late last month. A Legal 500 Hall of Famer for small to mid-cap equity capital markets, Spedding was at Travers or 25 years. …

‘I have near total freedom to build a practice’: ex-Kirkland Hall of Famer Tumani on his new challenge

Legal 500 Hall of Famer Satnam Tumani, previously head of the SFO’s anti-corruption and bribery unit and a longstanding partner at Kirkland & Ellis, recently moved to boutique firm Edmonds Marshall McMahon. He spoke to LB about his brief to build a new practice, the contrasts between Big Law and boutique law, and his nostalgia …