Moves
UK & Ireland
Gibson Dunn targets A&O Shearman for London disputes partner
Employment specialist Robbie Sinclair joins Gibson Dunn as the firm focuses on building its City disputes bench alongside its already strong deals team.
MoFo Adds Third HSF Kramer Partner in London PE Buildout
Morrison & Foerster has added Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s head of international private equity in London Eleanor Shanks, making her the third HSF Kramer partner to join in recent months. She follows PE partner David D’Souza and leveraged finance partner Ambharish Dash who joined MoFo in the U.K. this summer from HSF Kramer.
TLT recruits Michael Hamill to Belfast corporate team
After leading the corporate team at Pinsent Masons in Belfast, Michael Hamill joins TLT. He has over ten years of expertise advising clients in both conventional and renewable energy on complicated business transactions, such as joint ventures, M&A, reorganizations, project development, and regulatory compliance.
Fieldfisher appoints Stuart Marks as business services centre director in Belfast
Stuart Marks has been named director of the business services center in Belfast by the European legal firm Fieldfisher. He was managing director and head of business development at FinTrU before joining Fieldfisher.
CMS bolsters energy team with new appointments
CMS has announced the appointment of Susie Lind, one of the UK’s top experts within the renewable energy sector. She joins as an Edinburgh-based partner within the firm’s energy and infrastructure practice. Ms Lind provides more than 20 years’ experience within the sector acting in high-level roles across major energy firms and industry trade associations like RenewableUK and Scottish Renewables.
Americas
Sheppard Mullin Adds Jackson Walker Fund Formation Partner in Dallas
Graham McCall, a Jackson Walker partner in fund development and investment management, claimed that Sheppard Mullin’s extensive clientele and extensive office network drew him in. He has joined the firm’s Corporate practice group and Private Equity industry team in Dallas.
Troutman Pepper Locke Adds Energy Transactions Partner from Hogan Lovells in West Palm Beach
“Oil and gas, in fact, along with renewables, is only growing, and there’s a demand for energy, both domestically and internationally,” said Andrés Chaves, the new partner. Chaves’ expertise spans wind, hydro, solar and biomass projects, liquefied natural gas, natural resources and mining, petrochemical and refinery projects, and pipelines, as well as other midstream oil and gas infrastructure.
Perkins Coie, Holland & Knight Lawyers Head to Haynes and Boone
The Dallas-founded Am Law 100 firm has hired rapidly this year, hiring more than 25 partners so far in many practices.
EMEA
Orrick adds M&A and private equity quartet from Norton Rose Fulbright in Munich
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has hired a four-lawyer M&A and private equity team from Norton Rose Fulbright in Munich. The incoming team include partners Michael Prüssner and Benjamin Schikora, alongside associates Hannah Frahm and Helge Meyer.
Munich boutique hires from A&O Shearman
Alice Broichmann is leaving her role as counsel at A&O Shearman in Munich to join the partnership at German boutique Kröck Dispute Resolution.
Maples Group Appoints Partner Antonios Nezeritis to Strengthen Luxembourg Funds Practice
Antonios Nezeritis joins the firm from Ashurst and brings extensive experience advising on Luxembourg fund structures across private equity, venture capital, real assets, and liquid strategies, together with related regulatory and operational matters that are central to the Luxembourg market.
DLA Piper loses two lawyers to Squire Patton Boggs and Galadari in Dubai
Joywin Mathew has joined Squire Patton Boggs as a partner in its financial services practice. Hasan Elshafiey, meanwhile, has been appointed a partner in Galadari’s dispute resolution practice.
STAT founding partner joins Baker Botts in Riyadh as global Islamic finance head
Faris Al Amoudi has been appointed by Baker Botts as a corporate partner and head of global Islamic finance in Riyadh. This is the company’s third hire in Saudi Arabia in a single month.
APAC
Clyde & Co hires former HK Insurance Authority acting GC as China Corporate Head
Clyde & Co has appointed Patrick Peng as partner and head of corporate for Greater China, strengthening its regulatory and corporate insurance capabilities in the region.
Nineth Partner Leaves Squire Patton Boggs in Australia
Workplace partner Kim Hodge is departing to join Australian firm Sparke Helmore.
Lateral Hiring in Hong Kong Pushes on As Eversheds Adds New Partner
Tan Weiyi has been appointed as a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Management practice at Eversheds. Weiyi offers advice on cross-border investigations pertaining to financial fraud, corruption, and other white-collar issues.
Team Moves
US firms eye $2.5tr fund finance opportunity amid spate of transatlantic hires
Jennifer Passagne joined Paul Hastings in London from Haynes Boone, while Duncan McKay joined Gibson Dunn in New York as its head of fund finance. Passagne offers knowledge of capital call facilities, hybrid structures, GP support lines, and NAV facilities.
Orrick adds M&A and private equity quartet from Norton Rose Fulbright in Munich
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has hired a four-lawyer M&A and private equity team from Norton Rose Fulbright in Munich. The incoming team include partners Michael Prüssner and Benjamin Schikora, plus associates Hannah Frahm and Helge Meyer.
In House
Sharjah’s Invest Bank appoints new general counsel
Invest Bank announced the appointment of Rakan Shiyab as its new general counsel to help shape the bank’s next chapter of growth and leadership.
Billionaire Steve Cohen’s New York Mets hires Kasowitz partner as next GC
The New York Mets, a US baseball franchise, have appointed Kenneth David as their new general counsel, taking James Denniston’s place. David comes from the US litigation firm Kasowitz, where he was a partner.
Mamdani Taps Cozen Lawyer for Transition Team
Zohran Mamdani, the incoming mayor of New York City, named a head of the Legal Aid Society and lawyers from Winston & Strawn and Cozen O’Connor.
Former DOGE General Counsel Joins Elon Musk’s xAI as Legal Chief
James Burnham has an eclectic experience that includes working as an attorney for President Donald Trump and serving as president of a litigation funding firm.
Snap Hires GC From Partner Ranks of Law Firm That Did $51M in Work for It Last Year
Thirteen-year Munger Tolles veteran Zachary Briers is following Michael O’Sullivan, who’d been with the firm 21 years before he resigned in 2017 to become Snap’s legal head.
Promotions & Appointments
Nine firms land spots on £5m Nuclear Decommissioning Authority panel
A total of nine firms have won spots on the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) latest legal panel, which went live this month and will run until 2027. The NDA’s most significant refresh of external legal support since its last disclosed its roster in 2018, Addleshaw Goddard, Burges Salmon, Dentons, DLA Piper, DWF, Mills & Reeve and TLT have all secured places, joining returning advisers Pinsent Masons and Gowling WLG.
Weil makes up 17 in latest partner promotions round
Weil Gotshal & Manges has promoted 17 to partner in its latest round, with the cohort weighted toward its corporate practice. Four Counsels were promoted to Partner in London, including Ellie Fialho (Corporate), Jack Gray (Corporate), Kai Zhang (Corporate) and Kevin Donegan (Tax).
White & Case names five new local partners in Middle East
White & Case has promoted five lawyers to local partner in the Middle East. The local partners are based in the firm’s Dubai and Riyadh offices, and specialise in a mix of transactional areas including capital markets, debt finance, financial services regulation, and mergers & acquisitions. They include Salvia Matonyte, Hamzeh Alrasheed, Prema Govind-Hitti, Arnold Krutilins and Reem Albakr.
UK insurance lawyers group FOIL elects Browne Jacobson partner as next president
Bridget Tatham, a partner at Browne Jacobson, has been chosen as the next president of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL). In 2026, Tatham will succeed Keoghs partner Howard Dean as head of FOIL, which serves over 8,000 attorneys and paralegals in the UK and Ireland.
Solomon takes the helm at Littleton
Adam Solomon KC has been named Littleton Chambers’ new head of chambers. Solomon succeeds Gavin Mansfield KC, now Mr Justice Mansfield, who was nominated to the High Court Bench earlier this month having served as head of chambers since 2018.
Weil makes up 17 in latest partner promotions round
In its most recent round, Weil Gotshal & Manges has elevated 17 people to partner, with a cohort that is skewed toward its business practice. Seven women, or 40% of the group, make up the most recent cohort.
Akerman Favors Florida Offices for 2025 New Partner Class
The firm promoted 15 new partners, down from 2024’s class of 20. Eight of the new partners work in the Sunshine State.
Office Openings & Closing
Munck Wilson Launches Technology Transactions, Privacy, Cybersecurity Practice Group
Munck Wilson Mandala, a technology-focused company based in Dallas, appointed two Dickinson Wright partners to co-lead the new practice.
Mergers & Alliances
Korea’s Big Six Yoon & Yang Signs Collaboration Agreement with Vietnam’s VILAF
Big Six South Korean firm Yoon & Yang and VILAF, one of Vietnam’s largest law firms, have signed a collaboration agreement to enhance cross boarder legal services for Korean businesses operating in Vietnam.
Fieldfisher and Regan Wall merge to build leading Irish corporate law team
Fieldfisher announced a significant expansion of its Irish operations through a merger with Regan Wall LLP, one of Ireland’s most active boutique corporate law firms, renowned for advising on high-value transactions across various sectors including healthcare, technology and financial services.
Merrick Benn, CEO of Womble U.S., added that company executives in the U.S. and the U.K. tried to steer clear of barriers like the currency rate that reduced the likelihood of other pairings.
Financials
Raft of Big Law firms line up to match Cravath’s associate bonuses
A raft of Big Law firms have unveiled their bonuses for associates, matching the scale set last week by Cravath Swaine & Moore that tops out at $140,000. Paul Weiss, McDermott Will & Schulte, Dechert, Vinson & Elkins, Debevoise & Plimpton and Baker Botts are among the firms that will match the scale, as are Cadwalader, White & Case, Skadden, Davis Polk, Fried Frank, Clifford Chance and Linklaters according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The firms’ associates will get year-end bonuses ranging from $20,000 for the class of 2024 to $115,000 for the class of 2018 and earlier, as well as special bonuses ranging from $6,000 to $25,000.
Baker Botts Is First Big Texas Law Firm to Announce Bonuses at Cravath Scale
The bonus tiers established by Cravath, Swaine & Moore on Tuesday have been mirrored by several Big Law firms.
NY Law Firm Cohen & Gresser Exploring Private Equity Infusion
Confirming the conversations with investors, one of the firm’s founding partners stated that the company has been ready for the “entry of modern finance into the legal sector for over a decade.”
Technology & Innovation
McDermott invests $10m in specialist legaltech fund
The LegalTech Fund (TLTF), a venture capital firm specialising in early-stage legal technology start-ups, has closed a second fund for $110m. The joint lead investors in the fund were McDermott Will & Schulte, which invested $10m, and electronic discovery specialist Consilio.
Staying Indispensable: How Young Lawyers Can Remain Valuable in the AI Era
You are still the lawyer, but AI is the tool. Young lawyers are still valuable if they make an investment in their judgment, persuasion, strategy, relationships, and nuance.
AI and the Future of Governance: Why Smarter Still Means Human
Artificial intelligence permeates company operations in ways that are both transformational and imperceptible, making it just as significant as the internet itself. Yet, as our panel acknowledged, even the brightest systems in the world cannot replace the one thing corporate governance depends on most: human judgment.
Market Commentary
Senior associates at UK firms have lower job satisfaction than other cohorts study finds
Senior associates are the unhappiest cohort of lawyers at UK firms due to gripes about job satisfaction and pay, according to a report by Chambers and Partners. Just 61% of senior associates said they had high levels of job satisfaction, compared to 76% of trainees and 75% of partners.
College of Legal Practice cuts solicitor qualification to four years with new apprenticeship
The College of Legal Practice (CoLP) has launched a four-year-long apprenticeship that leads to qualification as a solicitor, a reduction from the six years that has previously been the standard, by removing parts of the undergraduate degree from the programme.
Clyde & Co Builds Business Services Centre in Manila
Clyde & Co are building a business services center in Manila to manage much of its Asia Pacific back-office work, following similar initiatives in the U.S. and the Middle East, where business services centres in Kansas City and Glasgow now undertake much of the back office functions, including finance, information technology, legal tech and legal support.
Inside the 88% Surge in Tax Partner Moves Across Big Law in London
Over the last year, tax partners moves across the U.K.’s Big Law firms have occurred at a “remarkable” rate, with U.S. firms in particular stocking up on talent in view of an anticipated influx of private capital work, new data shows.
Sidley Foresees M&A Growth in Southeast Asia, Positions Firm to Seize Market Share
The firm is also busy on U.S. investigations and regulatory work and chasing Indian IPOs.
Senior associates at UK firms have lower job satisfaction than other cohorts – study
According to Chambers’ The Leading Teams report, only 61% of senior associates reported excellent levels of job satisfaction, compared to 76% of trainees and 75% of partners. With 85% of respondents saying they were content, department heads had the highest job satisfaction score.