White & Case has continued its rapid expansion in London with the firm set to bring in Clifford Chance (CC) corporate partner Patrick Sarch, head of the Magic Circle firm’s global banks sector team.
Sarch advises on a broad range of matters including corporate finance, M&A, and takeover code issues.
A partner for ten years, Sarch has advised on a range of major deals including Barclays on its £6bn rights issue, EADS on its proposed €38bn merger with BAE Systems and Kraft Foods on its unsolicited £11.9bn takeover of Cadbury.
Yesterday (12 October) it was announced BNY Mellon’s EMEA regulatory head James Greig was joining White & Case’s financial services team. The US firm also added to its global tax practice last month with the addition of London-based Michael Wistow as co-head of the firm’s tax practice in EMEA from Berwin Leighton Paisner.
In further strategic moves, it was revealed in September the US firm had taken a ten-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills in Australia, launching two offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
White & Case has been aggressive in the City, aiming to have more than 500 lawyers in London in four years as part of its 2020 strategy. By revenue it inched ahead of Latham & Watkins last year in 2015, with around £2m more in revenues. White & Case posted London revenue of £185m while Latham was behind at £183m.
Going the other way, CC benefited from the hire of Olswang’s co-head of life sciences Stephen Reese which was announced last month.
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk
