Revolving Doors: Key hires for Mayer Brown, Greenberg Traurig, Herbert Smith, K&L Gates and Pinsent Masons

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The lateral hiring spike of September is running into October, as Mayer Brown and US rival Greenberg Traurig Maher bulk up in London, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) and K&L Gates recruit into their Australian practices, and Pinsent Masons boosts its Middle Eastern energy projects team.

Mayer Brown has hired Patricia Jones, a real estate partner from SJ Berwin, to join its team in London, following the hire last week of corporate partner Greg Stonefield from White & Case. Jones has been at SJ Berwin for 10 years and most recently acted for British Land on the redevelopment of the Shoreditch Estate. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Key hires for Mayer Brown, Greenberg Traurig, Herbert Smith, K&L Gates and Pinsent Masons”

Back to school: lateral hire market picks up with renewed vigour as autumn arrives

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BLP sees three partners depart; London hires hit double figures for September

The lateral hire market in the City picked up sharply in September, with the number of notable hires announced in the first few weeks of the month comfortably into double figures.

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) saw a gloomy summer draw to a close with the departure of three significant names: head of managed legal services Patrick Somers to DLA Piper; contentious tax partner Liesl Fichardt to Clifford Chance; and commercial technology specialist Adam Rose to Mishcon de Reya.

Continue reading “Back to school: lateral hire market picks up with renewed vigour as autumn arrives”

Asia Pacific: DLA hires four-strong Jones Day team in Beijing

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DLA Piper has further bolstered its Asia Pacific offering with the hire of a four-lawyer IP team from Jones Day in Beijing, led by the US firm’s former head of IP in China, Horace Lam.

Lam will join DLA’s Beijing office in October along with counsel Stacy Yuan and associates Alicia Ma and Helen Ding, together with the additional hire of IP lawyer Miya Wen from Rouse.

Prior to joining Jones Day in May 2011, Lam was the Beijing managing partner of Hogan Lovells and head of the firm’s IP practice. He focuses on IP disputes, protection strategies and licensing. Continue reading “Asia Pacific: DLA hires four-strong Jones Day team in Beijing”

Surprise and strong words as a nine-partner Hogan Lovells team quits for MoFo’s German launch

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While Hogan Lovells has had its integration challenges since the three-year Anglo/American union that created it, the firm’s well-regarded German practice had seemed one part of the empire enjoying prosperous tranquillity.

As such there was some surprise – not least at Hogan Lovells – with the announcement today (24 September), that a nine-partner team is to leave the firm’s Berlin arm to launch a German law practice for top 50 US practice Morrison & Foerster. The team constitutes Hogan Lovells’ entire partnership ranks in Berlin.

Morrison carried out a partner vote to ratify the addition of the team of nine partners, who are currently working with more than 20 associates and counsel. A statement from the firm subsequently confirmed that the US firm had taken on a 30-lawyer team from Hogan Lovells in Berlin.

Continue reading “Surprise and strong words as a nine-partner Hogan Lovells team quits for MoFo’s German launch”

Recruitment drive for Cadwalader in London reaps double Mayer Brown hire

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Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s efforts to rebuild its London finance team were today rewarded with the hire of two leading Mayer Brown structured finance partners to boost its City offering.

Former Mayer Brown finance and banking practice head Bruce Bloomingdale joins the 435-lawyer firm today (18 September) alongside Chicago banking and finance partner Jeremiah Wagner, who has been on secondment to Mayer Brown’s London office. Continue reading “Recruitment drive for Cadwalader in London reaps double Mayer Brown hire”

Swings and roundabouts: DLA Piper announces replacement Birmingham head and double hire as Patrick Somers joins from BLP

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After losing Birmingham managing partner Mark Beardmore to Eversheds last week DLA Piper has announced his replacement plus a double hire to boot, as former Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) partner Patrick Somers joins the firm.

Somers, who was BLP’s Thames Water relationship partner and led its innovative managed legal services (MLS) division, under which it took over the legal work and staff of Thames Water, becomes the second BLP partner this year to join DLA, after corporate partner Rob Salter joined in May. Continue reading “Swings and roundabouts: DLA Piper announces replacement Birmingham head and double hire as Patrick Somers joins from BLP”

Further DLA regional fall out as Eversheds hires Birmingham managing partner and head of technology

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DLA Piper has suffered further regional losses as Birmingham managing partner Mark Beardmore and head of technology and sourcing Simon Jones depart for Eversheds.

Corporate M&A and private equity partner Beardmore, who regularly acts for private equity funders and management teams on management buyouts and secondary buyouts, is thought to have been approached by Eversheds and resigned from DLA last week. Continue reading “Further DLA regional fall out as Eversheds hires Birmingham managing partner and head of technology”

Revolving Doors: September ushers in hires for Bakers, Clyde & Co, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons and Irwin Mitchell

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A return to business as usual this September has brought a wave of lateral hires including 4,000-lawyer Baker & McKenzie’s recruitment of leading M&A partner Mats Sacklén (pictured) from the London office of McDermott Will & Emery, where he was head of the European corporate practice. Sacklén, who joins Baker’s Stockholm office to bolster its European corporate offering, is dual-qualified in Swedish and US law and focuses on cross-border M&A, divestures, joint ventures, privatisations, and debt and equity investments.

Sten Bauer, managing partner in Stockholm, commented: ‘He is very well-known in the market, both in London and Stockholm, and has worked on some of Europe’s largest deals over the past decade.’ Continue reading “Revolving Doors: September ushers in hires for Bakers, Clyde & Co, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons and Irwin Mitchell”

Lateral movement: Martin explains Macfarlanes’ current hiring spree

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One of the biggest surprises to come out of Macfarlanes lately is not that it was one of the strongest performers in the LB100 this year, but rather the significantly accelerated rate of lateral hires joining the firm, bringing an increased risk of upsetting traditionalists at the City blueblood.

With the recent re-hire of one its former lawyers, Michael Parkinson from Russell-Cooke, 71-partner Macfarlanes has made seven lateral hires in around two years, as opposed to its typical average of one per year. Managing partner Charles Martin says the firm will continue to add to this number over the next 12 months. Continue reading “Lateral movement: Martin explains Macfarlanes’ current hiring spree”

US lateral spree: Jones Day closes in on 50 hires for 2013 as King & Spalding continues to crank up City offering

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In its 49th lateral hire of 2013, Jones Day has hired Latham & Watkins finance partner Brian Conway to its London banking and finance practice. His hire comes amid a spate of lateral hires to take place between US-based international firms recently.

Conway is the tenth partner to join one of the firm’s global banking and finance practices this year, following the hire of former co-chair of Miami-based firm Akerman Senterfitt’s Rafael Aguilar who joined Jones Day’s recently launched Miami banking and finance practice in July.

Continue reading “US lateral spree: Jones Day closes in on 50 hires for 2013 as King & Spalding continues to crank up City offering”