Revolving Doors: City lateral market falls quiet as firms look further afield to strengthen benches

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Revolving Doors: City lateral market falls quiet as firms look further afield to strengthen benches

May has been a quiet month for the London lateral market, with Addleshaw Goddard making the only notable City move last week as the firm strengthened its City banking practice. However in the Middle East Ashurst and DLA Piper made significant hires, while Paul Hastings and Allen & Overy (A&O) both made plays in Europe.

Addleshaw Goddard hired well-regarded leveraged finance and banking partner Peter Crichton from McDermott Will & Emery. He will now join the active mid-market practice currently led by Alex Dumphy, while Amanda Gray, Addleshaws’ finance and projects division managing partner, welcomed the hire: ‘The leveraged finance market is becoming increasingly fractured with an ever-growing number of lenders, and we have seen a proliferation in debt funds. Peter’s appointment provides necessary bandwidth to win new market share across the broad spectrum of this market, as well as additional resource to combine with our award-winning private equity team on sponsor-side transactions.’ Continue reading “Revolving Doors: City lateral market falls quiet as firms look further afield to strengthen benches”

A special situation – Macfarlanes overcomes lateral reluctance with rare spate of hires

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A special situation – Macfarlanes overcomes lateral reluctance with rare spate of hires

Corporate partner Peter Baldwin joins the City outfit from Ropes & Gray

Traditionally reticent to engage in the lateral recruitment market, Macfarlanes has continued its recent flurry of hires, this time recruiting special situations and corporate partner Peter Baldwin from Ropes & Gray. Continue reading “A special situation – Macfarlanes overcomes lateral reluctance with rare spate of hires”

Significant hires

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Significant hires
  • In April, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan reinforced its City competition practice with the hire of Elaine Whiteford from Covington & Burling, who brings with her a focus on follow-on damages litigation – a particular area of interest for the disputes specialist.
  • Ropes & Gray, meanwhile, made a financial regulation play with the hire of O’Melveny & Myers London partner Eve Ellis, who becomes Ropes’ 24th partner in its City office.

Continue reading “Significant hires”

Kirkland private equity duo quit for Willkie Farr

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Kirkland private equity duo quit for Willkie Farr

Long-rumoured to be on their way out of the US giant, Kirkland & Ellis private equity duo David Arnold and Gavin Gordon are set to join Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

The pair joined Kirkland from Ashurst in 2010 in one of the firm’s first major laterals in private equity in the City. Clients Gordon has worked with include Cinven, ABRY Partners, KKR and Vista, while Arnold’s list include CapVest Partners and Montagu Private Equity. Continue reading “Kirkland private equity duo quit for Willkie Farr”

Fieldfisher merges with top 20 Irish firm McDowell Purcell for Dublin launch

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Fieldfisher merges with top 20 Irish firm McDowell Purcell for Dublin launch

Fieldfisher is continuing its fervent EU expansion with a new Dublin office, launched via a merger with top 20 Irish firm McDowell Purcell.

The 120-year-old Irish outfit, which consists of 16 partners and 50 lawyers, has a flagship regulatory practice, but other specialisms include dispute resolution, employment and insolvency and restructuring. It is led by managing partner JP McDowell (pictured, left). Continue reading “Fieldfisher merges with top 20 Irish firm McDowell Purcell for Dublin launch”

Revolving doors: Quinn Emanuel adds star Covington partner as Ropes & Gray and Mishcon make hires

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Revolving doors: Quinn Emanuel adds star Covington partner as Ropes & Gray and Mishcon make hires

City firms welcomed a host of new partners over Easter, with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Ropes & Gray and Mishcon de Reya all making key lateral partner hires.

Quinn has reinforced its already robust London competition practice with the hire of Elaine Whiteford (pictured), who joins from Covington & Burling’s City office. Whiteford has substantial pedigree with 15 years’ experience in follow-on damages litigation, cartels and other regulatory investigations. Continue reading “Revolving doors: Quinn Emanuel adds star Covington partner as Ropes & Gray and Mishcon make hires”

Revolving Doors: King & Spalding continues lateral spree with double hire as Linklaters loses NY funds partners to Debevoise

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The first week of April saw no fooling around in the lateral hires market. King & Spalding has continued its six-month long lateral hiring run, bolstering its projects and disputes practices in London with a double hire of project development and financing partner Nikhil Markanday and arbitration and public international law partner Giorgio Mandelli.

Last year the firm made three lateral partner hires in London, including corporate and M&A partner Derek Meilman from Hogan Lovells, and White & Case real estate partner David Cox. Markanday joins the firm’s corporate, finance and investments practice from Ashurst while Mandelli joins the trial and global disputes practice from boutique Volterra Fietta in London. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: King & Spalding continues lateral spree with double hire as Linklaters loses NY funds partners to Debevoise”

Revolving Doors: Akin Gump does the double, Kirkland boosts funds and Sidley recruits crime veteran as US firms power lateral market

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Revolving Doors: Akin Gump does the double, Kirkland boosts funds and Sidley recruits crime veteran as US firms power lateral market

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld led the way in the City lateral market last week after hiring two funds partners from O’Melveny & Myers’ City arm, while Kirkland & Ellis and Sidley Austin also made senior hires.

Daniel Quinn and Aleksander Bakic start their new roles at Akin Gump today (1 April), after the duo decamped from Allen & Overy’s prospective merger partner O’Melveny. Both focus on private equity transactions, and will work in the firm’s investment management practice and transactional platform in London. The Texas-bred Akin Gump, meanwhile, also announced the hire of Allen Shyu in Beijing, who joins from Stephenson Harwood. Continue reading “Revolving Doors: Akin Gump does the double, Kirkland boosts funds and Sidley recruits crime veteran as US firms power lateral market”

Slaughter and May chooses Hong Kong once more for rare partner hire

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Slaughter and May chooses Hong Kong once more for rare partner hire

Traditionally phobic to partner hires, Slaughter and May has recruited in Hong Kong again almost a year after its previous move in the jurisdiction, this time recruiting Jing Chen as partner from the Listing Division of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).

Chen re-joins the firm having been a trainee solicitor at Slaughters in 2006, before spending eight years as an associate advising on M&A and capital markets following qualification. Continue reading “Slaughter and May chooses Hong Kong once more for rare partner hire”

US firms strike in the City again as Latham hits Links and Paul Hastings taps Hogan Lovells

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US firms strike in the City again as Latham hits Links and Paul Hastings taps Hogan Lovells

Latham & Watkins has once again hit the Magic Circle to expand beyond its traditional transactional heartlands in the City, recruiting Linklaters insurance partner Victoria Sander.

Paul Hastings has also made the latest in a series of London hires, with former Hogan Lovells M&A infrastructure and energy partner Steven Bryan starting at the US firm this week. Continue reading “US firms strike in the City again as Latham hits Links and Paul Hastings taps Hogan Lovells”