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
Haynes Boone boosts London ranks with second Partner hire this month
Haynes Boone has hired former Macfarlanes Partner Chris Acton to establish and lead its UK derivatives platform; a move aimed at strengthening ties with the firm’s New York derivatives practice. Acton joins after 12 years as a partner at Macfarlanes, where he advised hedge funds, credit funds, proprietary trading firms and family offices on derivatives, trading, financing and related regulatory matters. He made partner in 2014, after qualifying in 2006.
Keystone Law hires new Funds Partner in London
Rowena Hill joins Keystone Law as Funds Partner. She was previously Managing Director at Cleveland and Co. With over 20 years’ experience, Rowena advises investment managers, institutional investors and financial services businesses on fund structuring, management and distribution, as well as providing in-house and general counsel support. Keystone has also added Funds Partner Katherine Rainwood who joins from Gowling WLG.
Keystone Law makes Fraud and Financial Crime Partner Hire to build out London Team
Syed Rahman joins as Partner at Keystone Law in London, having previously spent 11 years at Rahman Ravelli.
Europe
William Robert joins Stephenson Harwood’s Paris office as Corporate Partner after 10 years at Goodwin in Paris. He has more than 20 years of experience advising on domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. With notable expertise in Private Equity, he advises executives, financial investors, and growth companies on their strategic operations, external growth and consolidation, notably in complex and cross-border contexts.
Jones Day hires new Finance and Private Credit Partner in Munich
Dr. Jörg Weber joins Jones Day as Partner in Munich and will continue to focus on private credit, complex debt financings, special situations and financial restructurings. He joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
Eversheds Sutherland builds in Munich and Paris
Eversheds Sutherland has added Philipp Duncker from Fieldfisher as Partner in Munich to its Dispute Resolution team. In Paris, David Pere joins as Partner. He brings more than two decades of experience advising corporates, senior executives and public figures on corporate crime, investigations, compliance and regulatory matters.
Boies Schiller Flexner LLP hires new International Arbitration Partner
Michele Curatola joins as International Arbitration Partner in Milan. He previously worked as Counsel at Clifford Chance in Milan.
Winston Taylor Lands August Debouzy Trio to Launch Paris IP Practice
Winston Taylor’s Paris office has recruited a three-Partner patent litigation team from French firm August Debouzy to establish the four-month-old firm’s first intellectual property team. François Pochart, Grégoire Desrousseaux and Lionel Martin will join Winston Taylor in Paris. This IP team establishes their first dedicated IP team in France.
Simmons & Simmons hires new Employment Practice Partner in Munich
Michael Kalbfus joins the Employment team as Partner in Munich at Simmons & Simmons who continue to expand their employment offering in the city. He joins from Pinsent Masons where he worked for the past two years.
In house
Zurich shakes up in-house team after Beazley Acquisition
Zurich Insurance has appointed a new UK General Counsel to replace Ed Bridge. Bridge, who had been in post since the end of 2017, has moved to a new global role with Beazley and Zurich Global Specialty. Taking his place is Lawrence Hawkins, who will join from Standard Life in the first quarter of 2027.
US Treuhand hires new General Counsel
US Treuhand has appointed Norman Mayr as General Counsel. A specialist in Investment Funds and Asset Management Regulation, Mayr joins with around 17 years of experience advising on fund structuring and regulatory matters, and will support the firm’s US Real Estate Funds platform and future product development.
Promotions & Appointments
Stephenson Harwood announces CEO change amid Taylor Wessing talks
Stephenson Harwood has appointed Banking Head James Linforth as its next Chief Executive, succeeding Eifion Morris as the firm pursues merger talks with Taylor Wessing. Linforth will take up his new role in January, after Morris, who has held the role since 2019, said he was stepping down at the end of the year for personal reasons. He will remain a Partner and continue advising on a proposed combination with European law firm Taylor Wessing.
Latham promotes four London Partners in latest round of promotions
Latham & Watkins has promoted four lawyers to Partner in London as part of a 36-strong global round. The London promotions include two lawyers in M&A and Private Equity – Michael Houlder and Harry Redford – alongside tax lawyer Aaron Bradley and banking and private credit lawyer Philipp Hagenbuch. The four-Partner London cohort is smaller than last year’s equivalent round, when seven Associates made Partner in the City.
Kirkland and Ellis hire new Corporate Partner in London
Charles Hébert has been promoted from Senior Associate to Corporate Partner at Kirkland and Ellis’ London office.
Anderson Strathern promotes Eilidh MacEwan to Partner
Anderson Strathern has strengthened its dispute resolution team with the promotion of commercial litigation specialist Eilidh MacEwan to Partner. A solicitor advocate with more than 10 years’ experience, she advises clients across the financial sector on a range of commercial disputes including insolvency, tax litigation and debt recovery. She also has considerable experience in group litigation.
Eversheds Construction Head relocates from London to Dubai
Eversheds Sutherland has expanded in Dubai, relocating its Head of Construction from London to Dubai and bringing back a former lawyer as Legal Director. Jonathan Douglas will continue to lead the firm’s construction and engineering practice from Dubai, while Mohamed Khanaty returns to the firm after more than eight years at Freshfields.
Sarah Morris appointed Managing Partner of Ledingham Chalmers
Ledingham Chalmers has appointed Sarah Morris as Managing Partner, bringing 25 years of experience with the firm to the role. Ms Morris leads the firm’s institutional litigation team and has extensive experience advising public sector clients, local authorities and major insurers.
Joanne Leetch appointed Partner at Callan Tansey Solicitors LLP
Callan Tansey Solicitors LLP have announced the appointment of Joanne Leetch as Partner and Head of the Private Client department at their Boyle office. She was previously Senior Associate at the firm.
Notable Moves in the US
Weil and Willkie Call Off Merger Talks as More Partners Leave
Weil Gotshal & Manges and Willkie Farr & Gallagher have ended discussions over a possible merger, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The talks were ended last night after the two sides had signed a non-disclosure agreement to discuss a tie-up, the sources said. Weil has seen a string of Partner departures in recent weeks, and more are expected to be formally announced. Two Weil Partners who have served as members of the management committee, Drew Tulumello and Chantale Fiebig, are heading to Davis, Polk & Wardwell, according to sources. A Davis Polk representative did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. Another management committee member Carolina Zalka plans to join Paul Weiss.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
Ashurst Perkins Coie to follow rivals and open Houston Office
Ashurst Perkins Coie has opened in Houston with the recruitment of two Partners, expanding the newly combined firm’s presence in Texas as it targets growth in the US energy and infrastructure markets. Tom Tomlinson joins the firm’s projects, energy, environment and resources group, while Tamara McKinzie joins its Real Estate practice. Both join from Houston firm Bracewell, known for its energy practice and longstanding ties to the oil and gas industry.
Habib Al Mulla and Partners expands to China
Habib Al Mulla and Partners has established a presence in Shanghai, China, as part of its international expansion strategy, with a focus on helping businesses pursue trade and investment opportunities between China and the Middle East. The firm said the move makes it the first Arab law firm to establish a presence in China offering business consulting services.
Market Commentary
US firms overtake UK rivals in trainee popularity rankings
US law firms are challenging the traditional dominance of the Magic Circle in the battle for junior legal talent, with Kirkland, Latham and Paul Weiss emerging as some of the most desirable employers for UK trainees. Kirkland has taken the top spot in the latest Chambers trainee satisfaction rankings, while Latham is joint third and Paul Weiss joint fifth.
London trainee pay gap widens as top US firms hit £75k
London trainee salaries are reaching new heights, with a group of elite US law firms now paying junior recruits £75,000 a year before they even qualify. Milbank, Kirkland, McDermott and Sullivan & Cromwell now offer salaries of £70,000 for first-year trainees and £75,000 for second-years in London. The figures underline the growing divide between US firms and their Magic Circle rivals in the competition for junior legal talent. Magic Circle trainees earn £56,000 in their first year and £61,000 in their second, meaning those joining the four US firms can earn £14,000 more annually.
AI is no substitute for junior lawyers, Law Society warns
The Law Society has warned that artificial intelligence (AI) must not come at the expense of junior lawyers’ professional development, amid concerns that overreliance on the technology could leave the profession facing a major skills gap. In a new practice note, the professional body says AI can help solicitors work more efficiently but should not prevent trainees and junior members of the profession from developing the core skills needed to practise law.
Host of Firms Appointed to £75M Homes England Panel
The U.K. government has handed out £75 million in legal contracts for a panel focused on house-building projects and investment in the country. Addleshaw Goddard, Pinsent Masons and Ashurst Perkins Coie have all won roles. Burges Salmon, TLT and Eversheds Sutherland remain the top three firms gaining most of the work.
Burges Salmon to pilot sector-specific training contracts
Burges Salmon is to introduce training contracts that focus entirely on certain key sectors. From 2029, alongside its traditional training contract, the Bristol-headquartered firm will pilot a scheme dedicated to energy, and another focusing on the built environment. The initiative forms part of Burges Salmon’s 2026-31 strategy, which includes a commitment to doubling down on its sector-led model and investing in junior lawyers’ future skills and commercial awareness.
Sergio Erede, Founding Partner at BonelliErede, Dies at 86
Sergio Erede, Founding Partner of Italian law firm BonelliErede and a leading authority on Italian corporate law, has died in Genoa aged 86, marking the third loss of a founding partner after Franco Bonelli in 2015 and Aurelio Pappalardo in 2021.
BCLP lifts London NQ pay to £135k
BCLP has raised pay for newly qualified lawyers in London to £135,000, up from £125,000. The new rate takes effect from 1 January and puts BCLP ahead of rivals including Simmons & Simmons, Travers Smith and Winston Taylor. NQ salaries in Manchester and Southampton will also rise, to £80,000.
Gowling WLG grows Dubai practice with senior hires across Media, Sports and IP
Fiona Robertson has joined the firm as Counsel to lead its Media and Sports practice for the Middle East. She brings more than 30 years of experience in the media and entertainment sectors, including 18 years working across the Middle East and North Africa. She previously served as General Counsel at OSN.
Edward Drummond hires two Legal Advisory Partners to bolster London platform
Russell Shoult and Sarah Langton have joined the firm as Partners. Shoult spent a decade at Freshfields, most recently as markets and strategy director, while Langton joins after more than 18 years at Clifford Chance, where she became global head of talent acquisition in 2016. The legal strategy consulting market is continuing to grow and their arrival takes Edward Drummond to eight Partners across London and Bristol.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader breaks ranks in new AI strategy with dual Legora and Harvey rollouts
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has announced it will roll out Harvey and Legora across the firm’s global network, in what is a rare public declaration by a firm that has decided to adopt both. The firm has announced a revamp to its AI strategy just months after completing its $3.6bn mega-merger.
Microsoft Launches Legal Skills Within Copilot, Furthering Move Into Legal Tech
Microsoft announced Thursday the launch of Copilot for legal, a set of more than 20 purpose-built legal skills for the company’s generative artificial intelligence-powered chatbot. Copilot for legal represents an evolution of some of the features initially unveiled as part of Microsoft’s Legal Agent this April. The new offering consists of a pair of plugins, one for Microsoft Word and the other for Microsoft Cowork, an agentic AI offering that can perform tasks across Microsoft applications.
Womble Bond Dickinson unveils new AI lab
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP has unveiled its new AI lab, which has been set up to build AI-powered tools for the firm and its clients. Womble AI Labs is led by its Chief AI and Technology Officer Chad Ergun and is embedded in the firm’s IT function.
Legora raises another $550m, says US is now its biggest market
Legora has raised another $550 million, valuing the legal AI company at $8.8 billion. The Series E comes just seven months after Legora raised the same amount at a $5.6 billion valuation, meaning its valuation has jumped by more than 50% since March.