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
Gibson Dunn lands PE Real Estate Partner from Jones Day
Private Equity Real Estate Partner Chris Slack has left Jones Day to join Gibson Dunn in London. Slack, who arrives at Gibson Dunn after more than 13 years at Jones Day, will work closely with the firm’s Funds offering while sitting in the Real Estate department.
Brabners hires Real Estate Partner
Brabners has hired Matt Ramsden to join their Real Estate practice in Leeds. Matt joins from DLA Piper, where he served as a Legal Director.
Gore & Grimes welcomes new Litigation Partner
Gore & Grimes Solicitors has appointed Eoin Cunneen as a Partner in its Litigation and Dispute Resolution team. Eoin joins from Flynn O’Driscoll and is based in Dublin.
Keystone Law hires Marine and Superyacht Specialist Hannah Cash
Hannah will join Keystone’s London practice as Partner. She previously worked as a solicitor at YachtingLawyers.com.
BonelliErede strengthens City presence with Augusto Praloran joining London team
BonelliErede announces that Augusto Praloran, a Partner in the firm’s Corporate practice, will be relocating from Milan to London.
Temple Bright adds former JPMorganChase Counsel to roster
Partner-only law firm welcomes Financial Services sector expert Caroline Parr to its London office.
Lindsays has strengthened its Private Client team with the appointment of Aileen Entwistle
Aileen joins Lindsays as a Private Client Partner, based in Glasgow. Aileen previously worked as a Partner at Aberdein Considine.
New senior appointments at Mason Hayes & Curran
Mason Hayes & Curran has announced three senior appointments across its Tax and Financial Services teams in Dublin. Finn Kelly joins from Matheson as a Tax Partner and Susan Lynch is promoted to Of Counsel in the firm’s Tax practice. Tara Nestor joins from Hogan Lovells as Of Counsel in Debt Capital Markets.
Europe
Kirkland hires four-Partner Antitrust team from Cleary across London and Brussels
Kirkland & Ellis has hired four Antitrust Partners from Cleary. The Partners are Robert Snelders, Thomas Graf, and Conor Opdebeeck-Wilson in Brussels and London addition Henry Mostyn.
McDermott Rebuilds Brussels with Baker McKenzie Privacy Partner Hire
McDermott Will & Schulte has hired Senior Privacy Partner Elisabeth Dehareng from Baker McKenzie in Brussels, effective May 18th. Elisabeth joins the Regulatory practice group.
Clyde & Co strengthens with Partner of DLA Piper
Clyde & Co strengthens its advice in the field of IT law and Data Protection in their Düsseldorf office. Dr. Thorsten Ammann has joined the firm as an Equity Partner on May 18, 2026.
Orsingher Ortu Avvocati Associati hires two Corporate/M&A lawyers from K&L Gates
Orsingher Ortu Avvocati Associati announces two new hires: Arturo Meglio as Partner in the Corporate/M&A department, and Luca Nardello, Managing Associate. Arturo and Luca are based in Milan.
Squire Patton Boggs and Stephenson Harwood add Disputes Partners in Madrid
Squire Patton Boggs and Stephenson Harwood have both made senior hires in Madrid, adding Arbitration and Restructuring expertise, respectively, to their Spanish Disputes practices. Squire Patton Boggs has recruited former Ministerio de Justicia State Attorney Lorena Fatás Pérez as a Litigation Partner in their Madrid office. Stephenson Harwood has hired Restructuring and Insolvency specialist Juan Oñate from Pérez-Llorca to work in their Madrid office as Managing Partner.
Team
Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy is welcomes Mohamed Nabil Hazzaa and Naila Ramsay
Mohamed Nabil Hazzaa will join as Partner and Co-Head of Finance & Projects. Naila Ramsay joins as Partner in Finance & Projects. Both Partners previously worked at Sharkawy & Sarhan and are based in Cairo.
Orrick raids Dechert in Paris for five-strong hire
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has hired a senior Dechert partner in Paris, along with his team, adding heft to the firm’s European Healthcare and Life Sciences bench. Partner Alain Decombe leads the team – which includes Vianney Toulouse, a Senior Associate who will join Orrick as a Partner – to their new firm after nearly 21 years at Dechert.
Promotions & Appointments
Gateley announces Middle East promotion
Gateley announces the promotion of Amun Bashir to Partner in their Middle East Corporate team. Amun is based in Dubai.
Gowling WLG announces Middle East promotion
Gowling WLG announces the promotion of Simon Elliott to Partner in their Middle East Corporate team. Simon is based in Dubai.
Brabners Welcomes New Head of Corporate
Brabners has appointed Corporate partner Ruth Hargreaves as its new Head of Corporate. Ruth’s planned succession of Mark Rathbone in the role follows year-on-year growth for Brabners’ 76-strong corporate team, which she will head as it continues to build on its sector-led investment and the firm’s expanding national platform. Ruth is based in Manchester.
Freshfields Adds Mark Sansom as New Global Client Partner & Victoria Sigeti as UK Managing Partner
Global law firm Freshfields has named Mark Sansom (Antitrust Litigation) as its new global Client Partner, with Victoria Sigeti appointed as the firm’s new UK Managing Partner. Both Partners are based out of Freshfields’ London office.
Hayes Solicitors LLP announces 11 promotions
Hayes solicitors LLP has announced 11 promotions across the firm, including two new Partners, three Senior Associates, and six Associates.
Linklaters appoints new National Managing Partner for Saudi Arabia
Amro Bakhaidar has been appointed as the National Managing Partner – Saudi Arabia for a four-year term. Amro is a leading specialist in equity capital markets and public M&A transactions in Saudi Arabia. Amro is based in Riyadh.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
Addleshaw Goddard relocates Edinburgh office
International law firm Addleshaw Goddard has completed its office move in Edinburgh city centre. The firm has taken almost 30,000 sq ft space at 24 St Andrew Square, following a complete refurbishment which has maintained the building’s classical façade while providing modern, open plan efficient offices.
Macdonald Henderson moves to new Glasgow office
Macdonald Henderson is relocating its Glasgow city centre office to new premises. From 18 May 2026, its new address will be Wellington Place, 107 West Regent Street.
Squire Patton Boggs have moved into their Birmingham offices
SPB reports that their Birmingham colleagues have moved into their office from 18 May 2026. This move reflects their commitment to the city and continued growth across the Midlands.
Charles Russell Speechlys moves offices in Milan following consistent growth of Italian practice
The Firm now occupies two floors at Via Borgona 8, a historic trophy asset and free-standing building in Milan’s city centre. The Firm now has 17 lawyers and 5 support employees across the Italian practice, with ample headroom for future growth.
The practice has opened premises on Main Street, expanding into South Lanarkshire. Elaine MacDonald, Senior Partner, said: “It’s incredibly rewarding to see how the firm has grown over the past five years. Building a strong and reputable brand in such a short period of time is something we’re very proud of.”
Frankfurt lawyer trio launches its own law firm for Corporate deals
Stephan Ebner, Rolf Landgraf and Michel de Araujo Kurth are taking the plunge into self-employment. Their boutique, Maclaw, is intended to advise medium-sized companies and owner families on transactions and succession issues.
Ex-A&O Shearman Partner founds new Tax and Legal boutique in Luxembourg
SCHAFFNER is an independent Tax law boutique based in Luxembourg, built on excellence, precision, trust and long-term client relationships. The boutique was founded by Jean Schaffner formerly of A&O Shearman.
Mergers & Alliances
As of May 18th, the combination between Browne Jacobson and Davidson McDonnell is officially complete. As a result, almost 50 professionals join Browne Jacobson, with Davidson McDonnell’s Directors becoming Partners in the firm.
Turley Legal acquires Limavady firm Martin King French & Ingram
Coleraine-based Turley Legal has announced the acquisition of Martin King French & Ingram. The deal marks a significant milestone for Turley Legal as it expands its geographic footprint into Limavady, strengthening its presence across the North West and complementing its existing offices in Coleraine and Belfast. It also broadens the firm’s service offering, enhancing its ability to support clients in residential property, private client and personal legal matters alongside its established corporate and commercial expertise.
Financial Results
Moore Barlow reveals revenue hike amid Knights merger discussions
Moore Barlow, the South East firm currently in merger discussions with Knights, saw revenue rose by 13 per cent in 2025/26. Billings rose to £44.7m, with the insolvency and restructuring team beating its revenue target by 46 per cent, family by 9 per cent, and the schools and charities team by 12 per cent.
Knights passes £200m after another year of mergers
Listed law firm Knights has reported a revenue increase of 28 per cent to £207m for the 2025/26 financial year. Underlying profit before tax, meanwhile, rose 18 per cent to £33m.
Market Commentary
London Partner market cools amid top-tier talent squeeze
London’s lateral Partner market recorded its slowest opening quarter in three years in Q1 2026, according to a new report from legal search firm Macrae. There were 122 Partner moves during the quarter, down from 151 in Q1 2025, pointing to a more subdued start to the year after several years of elevated activity across the City market.
Kirkland & Ellis announced the formation of its integrated Real Assets Practice Group
The new practice will combine Kirkland’s Real Estate, Infrastructure, Energy and Minerals/Mining practices to align with client needs and industry trends. The combined group includes more than 600 lawyers across Kirkland’s global offices.
CM Murray appoints former Hill Dickinson Chief Executive as a strategic adviser
CM Murray has appointed former Hill Dickinson Chief Executive and Managing Partner Peter Jackson as a strategic adviser on a consultancy basis, as the specialist London boutique seeks to expand its work with law firms and other professional services clients.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Linklaters has established a team of lawyers and data scientists to build legal AI tools for clients of the top 10 UK law firm. The three data scientists and three lawyers will “develop customised AI workflows and tools for clients that an off-the-shelf tool cannot deliver”, Linklaters said.
Harvey announces partnership with Swiss legal AI intelligence platform DeepJudge
Harvey has announced a partnership with Swiss legal AI intelligence start-up DeepJudge, with the aim bring law firm and in-house expertise into AI-powered legal work. DeepJudge’s platform enables legal teams to integrate their previous work and decision making into Harvey’s workflows, helping lawyers to research, draft and analyse with AI but combined with their own institutional knowledge.