Partner Moves
Individual
UK & Ireland
Collyer Bristow invests in new Disputes leadership
Collyer Bristow has hired Alex Vakil as a Partner and Head of Commercial Disputes. Vakil succeeds Robin Henry, who retires after 12 years at the firm. Vakil joins after 18 months at Joelson, where he served as Co-head of Commercial Litigation, before which he was a Partner at RPC.
Weil Corporate Partner set for move to US rival
Murray Cox, a Partner from Weil Gotshal & Manges’s Corporate team in London, is set to join Simpson Thacher & Bartlett after five years at the firm.
Shoosmiths Hire Former Clifford Chance & Skadden Tech Lawyer as a Partner
Oscar Tang is a tech legal specialist who is to spread his time between Shoosmiths’ London and Brussels offices, strengthening the firm’s digital regulation and tech capability.
Browne Jacobson strengthens all-island life sciences platform with Kevin Moore appointment
Browne Jacobson has appointed Kevin Moore as Commercial Partner, a major step in building an all-island legal platform for life sciences. Kevin is based in Dublin.
gunnercooke hires charities Partner Robert Nieri from Shoosmiths
gunnercooke has strengthened its charities practice with the appointment of Robert Nieri as a Partner in Manchester. He joins from Shoosmiths, where he was a Legal Director, and advises charities across England and Wales, with particular expertise in establishing and advising corporate foundations.
Keystone adds Family Law Partner Emilie Helm
Keystone Law has welcomed Family Partner Emilie Helm to the firm. With more than 15 years’ experience, she advises on all aspects of family law, including divorce, financial claims, children matters and jurisdiction disputes, with particular expertise in Anglo-French family law.
Europe
Freshfields Loses Munich M&A Partner to Jones Day
Jones Day is strengthening its German M&A practice with the addition of Freshfields Partner Elizabeth Oberholzer, who will join the firm’s Munich office as a Partner in the Corporate practice.
Freshfields appoints Christine Vreede as a Partner in Amsterdam
Freshfields has announced the appointment of Christine Vreede as a litigation Partner in its Dispute Resolution practice in Amsterdam. Christine joins from Florent.
Clifford Chance is strengthening its Private Capital offering with the appointment of Thyl Hassler who will be based in Germany. A highly experienced private equity infrastructure lawyer, Thyl joins Clifford Chance as a partner from White & Case.
Simmons & Simmons bolsters Corporate practice in Amsterdam with a hire from Clifford Chance
Tjerk de Jonge joins Simmons & Simmons as a Partner in Amsterdam specialising in in corporate transactions, private equity and asset management and investment funds transactions. Tjerk joins from Clifford Chance where he was a Counsel.
Middle East
BlueFive Capital hires former Dubai Office Head from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
Marwan Elaraby has been appointed as President for the MENA region at BlueFive Capital. He from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was Partner in Charge of the firm’s Dubai office and a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, and Capital Markets practice groups. BlueFive Capital is a global investment platform with more than $15 billion in assets under management based in Abu Dhabi.
Linklaters hires Baker McKenzie’s Corporate Head in Abu Dhabi
Linklaters has strengthened its Corporate practice with the appointment of Osama Audi as a Partner in Abu Dhabi. Audi is set to join the firm from Baker McKenzie.
DLA Piper Recruits Greenberg Traurig’s Former Singapore M&A Head to Boost Southeast Asia Offering
Jake Robson joins DLA Piper from Greenberg Traurig as a corporate partner in Singapore, further strengthening its footprint in Asia after the recruitment of Sherlyn Lau and a 12-lawyer capital markets team in Hong Kong in February.
Team
Düsseldorf Partner Stefan Schröder Taylor has announced his departure and is joining Taylor Wessing. Stefan take two Associates with him, and will join the team led by Dr. Tillmann Pfeifer, Head of Taylor Wessing’s Energy & Infrastructure Industry Group.
andersonbain LLP appoints Dan McFarlane as Partner
Aberdeen firm andersonbain LLP has strengthened its conveyancing team with the appointment of Dan McFarlane as Partner, joined by Paralegal Eleanor Carter at the firm’s Thistle Street office.
In house
Luke Golding joins Away Resorts Ltd as Senior Legal Counsel
Luke specialises in commercial, technology, consumer and travel law and joins from Deloitte in London where he was a Director.
Promotions & Appointments
K&L Gates appoints new Middle East Managing Partner, plus other key appointments
K&L Gates has appointed Amjad Hussain as Managing Partner of its Middle East offices, reflecting the firm’s strategic focus on regional growth, while Pillsbury AlArfaj and HSF Kramer have expanded their regional practices through new Partner appointments.
DWF announces seven promotions and 12 new hires in Belfast
DWF has promoted seven colleagues and welcomed 12 new hires in its Belfast office as part of the business’ latest global promotions round and ongoing investment in its teams.
Freshfields continues brand push with hire of Slaughters Chief Commercial Officer
Michelle Holford is set to join Freshfields as its chief marketing and business development officer, seeing her return to the firm after departing in 2017.
Firm and Market Activity
Market Commentary
Freeths has announced the appointment of John Jones as its new Chief Technology Officer
John Jones will work across Freeths’ 12 UK offices and will be responsible for shaping and delivering the firm’s technology strategy. His role will focus on ensuring Freeths has secure, resilient and future‑ready technology platforms that support colleagues, enhance the client experience and enable continued operational excellence.
PIF net profit more than doubles to $17 billion, latest report shows
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) more than doubled its net profit to $17 billion in 2025, as revenue rose 9% to $120 billion and assets under management continued to expand. The sovereign wealth fund’s latest annual report shows that net profit increased from $7.1 billion in 2024, while revenue rose from $110 billion.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Cleary, Freshfields and Weil sign up to Google’s new legal AI platform
Google has joined Anthropic and OpenAI in launching its own legal-specific AI product, securing deals with a string of major firms including Freshfields, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Weil Gotshal & Manges. The tech titan today unveiled Gemini Enterprise for Legal, describing it as “an enterprise-grade, purpose-built agentic AI solution engineered for the complex requirements and workflows of the legal industry”.
Thomson Reuters takes on legal AI startups with its own model
Thomson Reuters has launched its own legal-focused large language model, spending $40 million to train it on its vast library of legal content. Called Thomson, the model will start powering parts of CoCounsel Legal, the company’s flagship legal AI product, alongside models from the major general-purpose AI providers.