Welcome to this week’s update, where we bring you the latest moves, promotions, and strategic appointments shaping the legal industry.
Partner Moves
Individual
UK & Ireland
Akin Adds London Partner Filippo Durazzo to Growing Private Equity Platform
Akin announced today that Filippo Durazzo has joined the firm as Corporate Partner in London, further advancing the firm’s expansion of its global private equity platform. Filippo Durazzo was previously Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin in London. He reunites with U.S. Head of Private Equity Gerald Brant, Partners Jeffrey Kochian, London-based Jono Hamill and their team, strengthening capabilities in Private Equity transactions, complex M&A and capital solutions.
CMS hires Amazon lawyer to boost space and telecoms offering
Prash Mehta joins the CMS London office as Partner in Technology. He previously worked at Amazon as EMEA Legal Lead Compliance Lawyer for Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), supporting the rollout of Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite broadband network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Morrison Foerster hire Ashurst Perkins Coie Tech M&A Partner
Chris Grey joins Morrison Foerster in its M&A Practice as Partner and as UK Tech Sector Lead. His arrival takes the firm’s London partnership to 25 Partners. He joined Ashurst in 2023 from Clifford Chance, where he trained and practised in Paris before spending five years at elite Paris firm Darrois. At Ashurst, he was formerly global co-head of tech M&A and global co-lead of the firm’s technology sector.
Ashurst Perkins Coie hire Tom Jaggers as new Corporate Partner
Tom Jaggers will join the Corporate Team in London. He was previously a Managing Director in the European Principal (Private Equity) Group at Oaktree.
Dentons recruits Capital Markets Partner Megan Schellinger in London
Dentons has recruited Megan Schellinger as a Capital Markets Partner in London as the firm continues its ‘Golden Thread’ strategy, which prioritises building deeper client relationships to win a higher share of complex multi-jurisdictional mandates. Megan joins from Baker McKenzie and her hire forms part of Dentons’ broader investment in US securities and international capital markets capability across continental Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
gunnercooke hires new Restructuring and Insolvency Partner in Manchester
Gavin Jones joins gunnercooke in their Manchester office. He previously worked for JMW Solicitors LLP. He acts for insolvency officeholders, banks, asset-based lenders and other finances houses and lenders in relation to both contentious, non-contentious and transactional matters He also advises boards, directors and shareholders of companies.
Mills & Reeve hires James Law as new Real Estate Partner
James Law joins Mills & reeve as Partner in Real Estate after seven years at Clifford Chance where he was most recently Senior Associate. He will work at their London office.
Paul Hastings hires new Finance Restructuring Partner
Nick Berkeley will join as Partner from Sidley Austin where he was previously Counsel. The move comes only 6 months after he joined Sidley Austin.
Proskauer Welcomes Julio Castro as Tax Partner in London
Proskauer announced today that Julio Castro has joined the Firm as a Tax partner in its London office. Julio expands Proskauer’s Tax Group and enhances the Firm’s private funds tax capabilities. He was previously Office Managing Partner at KPMG US.
Pinsent Masons strengthens Energy and Infrastructure Practice
Josh Htet joins as Partner in the London office. He joins after 13 years at A&O Shearman. He will continue to focus on renewables and infrastructure financing across EMEA.
Eversheds Sutherland hires leading Finance Partner
Eversheds Sutherland has welcomed leading Finance Partner, Andrew Fordham, reinforcing its strategic intent to further strengthen its international Banking and Finance practice and expand its capabilities across key UK and global markets. Andrew joins the global law firm’s Leeds office from Addleshaw Goddard.
Keystone Law hire new Property Litigation Partner
Shinead Wilson joins Keystone Law in London as Partner from Osborne Clarke where she was previously Legal Director. She has over 15 years’ experience advising developers, landowners, investors, and commercial and individual owner-occupiers, and tenants.
RPC boosts Bristol financial risk disputes capabilities
RPC has hired former Kennedys Legal Director Michelle Johnston as a Partner in its Professional and Financial risk (PFR) practice. Johnston has over two decades’ experience handling multifaceted claims and significant disputes for clients.
Burness Paull bolsters Partner ranks with hire of hotels and student accommodation specialist
Burness Paull has welcomed hotels and student accommodation specialist Roland Smyth as a Partner to boost sector growth from within its market-leading real estate team. Smyth joins after over 12 years at CMS Scotland.
Gillespie Macandrew announces three senior appointments
Gillespie Macandrew has announced three senior appointments with the arrival of Chris Devlin and Douglas Roberts, as Partners in Planning and Corporate respectively, and Nikki Robertson as Head of Finance. All we be working in the Edinburgh office. The appointments take the firm’s partnership to a record 30 partners and come as Gillespie Macandrew surpasses £20 million turnover for the first time.
Caroline Smith joins Weightmans in Glasgow
Caroline Smith has joined Weightmans as a Partner in the Family Team in Glasgow. Previously of MTM Law, a niche family law practice, Smith has specialised in family law throughout a 30-year career, advising separating married and unmarried clients on relationship breakdown both on finance and children’s issues as well as having a particular interest in fertility and family creation law.
Europe
Eversheds Sutherland hires new European Competition Partner
Dr. Markus Wyssling has joined Eversheds in their Zurich office as a Partner, effective 1 October. Markus brings over twenty years of experience in Swiss and European Competition Law.
Fish & Richardson hires SEP-experienced litigator in Munich
Dr Armin Kühne is joining the firm’s Munich office as a Principal, a role equivalent to that of a Salary Partner. The lawyer, who has experience in SEP and life sciences litigation, joins from the German full-service firm Noerr. He joins from Noerr where he has been Associate Partner for the last 5 years.
Middle East
Baker McKenzie Loses Third Partner With Exit of Middle East Investment Funds Head
James Burdett joins Ashurst Perkins Coie and their Investment Funds Practice as Head of Investment Funds for the Middle East and Africa, based in Abu Dhabi to strengthen their Middle Eastern presence. His departure from Baker McKenzie follows that of Osama Audi, former UAE head of corporate, who left to join Linklaters’ Abu Dhabi office in late August, as well as Adil Hussain, the firm’s former Global Head of Islamic finance and Middle East Banking and Finance, who joined Hogan Lovells Cadwalader in Dubai in early September.
Notable US Moves
Linklaters is delighted to announce that Alejandro Martínez de Hoz has joined the firm as Head of Latin American Arbitration in Washington, D.C. Alejandro further strengthens Linklaters’ market-leading International Arbitration practice and continues the firm’s ongoing U.S. expansion across disputes, M&A, and finance. He joins from Paul Hastings where he was International Counsel.
Promotions & Appointments
Reed Smith promotes Jimmy Theodorou to Managing Partner for Europe and the Middle East
The promotion comes after over 16 years at the firm for Jimmy Theodorou and he will move on from his most recent role as the President of the Global Real Estate Group. He succeeds Gregor Pryor who is rejoining the Senior Management Team.
Clifford Chance creates new Private Equity leadership roles
Current Global Head of Private Equity Jonny Myers will step into the newly created role of Global Chair of Private Equity. Spencer Baylin will assume the role of Global Head of Private Equity, with the firm scrapping his current title of London Head of Private Capital, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
Claire Lavarde, Costanza Mussi and Arthur Merle-Beral join forces to launch Orbe Avocats, an independent law firm dedicated to criminal, business and regulatory litigation involving companies and their executives, as well as the management of sensitive situations that surround such matters. They all join from White & Case and their Paris office.
RPC opens New York office in latest stateside push by UK firms
RPC has opened an office in New York, its first in the US and only its fifth globally, as the London-headquartered firm expands its international insurance practice. The firm has hired insurance specialist Scott Schechter as a Partner to launch the office. He joins from New York firm Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan and will help build a local team focused on insurance claims with US exposure. New York joins RPC’s existing offices in London, Bristol, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi Expands to Dubai in Third Japanese Firm Overseas Push in a Week
The announcement follows Miura & Partners’ opening of its third U.S. office in Plano, Texas, on October 1, and fellow Japanese Big Four firm Mori Hamada’s plans to open offices in both Dallas and Houston in the first half of 2027.
Wolf Theiss opens London office to profit on CEE investment opportunities
Wolf Theiss is opening a London office to strengthen relationships between London and Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European markets. The office will be led by Polish M&A Partner Anna Dąbrowska, who joined the firm in 2023, and will relocate from Poland and work with Managing Partner Andrea Gritsch and colleagues across the firm’s 13 jurisdictions to develop connections with corporates, investors, financial institutions and international law firms.
Market Commentary
Cleary lifts London NQ pay to £172k, sweetens vacation scheme cash
Cleary has raised pay for newly qualified lawyers in London and introduced extra cash for vacation scheme students.The US firm has increased NQ salaries to £172,000, up from £164,500. The new rate puts Cleary close to rivals including Sidley Austin, Goodwin and King & Spalding, which pay £175,000.
Kirkland to stop sharing financial results with the media
Kirkland & Ellis will stop sharing its annual financial performance with the media, breaking with a long-running Big Law tradition. The firm informed The American Lawyer – which produces the flagship ranking of US law firm financials – that sharing the figures no longer provided “meaningful value” to clients and said inclusion in financial rankings could encourage a focus on quantitative measures over qualitative strengths, according to the Financial Times.
Kirkland tops Global M&A rankings after strongest first nine months for dealmaking since 2021
Kirkland & Ellis led the Global M&A legal advisor rankings by deal value in the first nine months of the year, following the strongest opening period for dealmaking since 2021, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group. The Chicago-founded firm worked on deals worth just over $601bn, roughly 27% higher than second-place Sullivan & Cromwell, which worked on deals worth $473bn.
Morgan Lewis launches 12-Partner EMEA council led by Middle East co-head Ayman Khaleq
Morgan Lewis has formed a leadership council for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as part of a renewed focus on the region, with Middle East co-leader Ayman Khaleq appointed to lead the 12-member council. The Council seeks to advance the firm’s regional strategy and growth opportunities and strengthen collaboration across its offices and practices.
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader keeps 14 of 21 trainees in latest retention round
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has kept hold of 14 of its 21 qualifying trainees, recording an autumn retention rate of 67%. Twenty of the cohort applied for newly qualified roles, with the firm making 17 offers. Fourteen went on to accept, including two rookies who will remain at the firm on fixed-term contracts.
Amanda Dubarry joins the team led by Emilie de Vaucresson. Member of the Paris Bar since 2017, Amanda advises large corporations, SMEs and start-ups on technology and data law, particularly in the fintech, e-health and adtech sectors.
Hoffmann Eitle further strengthens high-tech patent practice with appointment of Matthew Cassie
Matthew Cassie will join the Electrical Engineering and Digital Technologies Team as Patent Attorney in London. The appointment marks another important step in the continued development of the high-tech patent practice, adding significant depth across a broad range of technologies and patent matters.
Bertrand Ter Woort joins Simmons & Simmons Netherlands as Counsel
Bertrand joins having previously worked at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek as Senior Associate. He will work as Counsel in Amsterdam for Simmons and Simmons to strengthen their UPC offering, particularly around technology disputes and litigation.
Arsenal GC Svenja Geissmar Departs After 17 Years at Premier League Club
The departure marks the end of a tenure during which Geissmar helped build Arsenal’s legal department from the ground up and became a key adviser to club leadership on matters ranging from player transfers and sponsorship agreements to governance, data protection and employment issues. Over time, she became a member of Arsenal’s executive team and led a legal department with responsibilities extending across nearly every aspect of the club’s operations.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Weil and Sheppard Mullin send lawyers to learn how to use AI tools
A handful of staff from each firm have completed courses run by legal AI experts at LegalQuants – a group that has been at the forefront of several recent legal AI innovations, helping to develop legal plugins for both Anthropic’s Claude for Legal and OpenAI’s Astra for Law.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Black lawyers face gaps at senior levels as profession marks Black History Month
The Law Society and Bar Council have called for further action on career progression alongside recognition of Black lawyers’ contributions to the profession and the communities they serve. Their comments point to disparities between representation among entrants and those reaching senior positions. Figures drawn from a Solicitors Regulation Authority report published in March show that Black solicitors hold 1% of Partner roles at firms with 50 or more Partners. Across senior solicitor roles, 14% are held by people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups.
Simpson Thacher, Travers, Winston Taylor lawyers among new UK Green Ambassadors
Lawyers from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Travers Smith, Jones Day and Winston Taylor are among 15 new additions to the latest cohort of Green Ambassadors, Legal 500’s guide to the lawyers leading the sustainability agenda across the UK. Simpson Thacher ESG partner Matt Feehily, Jones Day energy transition Partner Michelle Davies and Winston Taylor real estate partners Emma Tait and Matthew Jones are among the newcomers and marks the first representation for their firms in the UK cohort.