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
Another Weil London Finance Partner Set to Join Simpson Thacher
Another Weil, Gotshal & Manges London Partner has resigned from the firm and is set to join Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, as the firm continues to contend with a significant run of Partner departures and addresses significant questions over its future. Finance Partner Kai Zhang has resigned from Weil’s partnership, and will join several of her colleagues in making the move across to close rival Simpson Thacher.
Latham & Watkins continues London tech push with Paul Hastings Disputes Partner hire
Latham & Watkins has continued its technology-focused push in London with the hire of Tech Disputes Partner Jason Raeburn from Paul Hastings. Raeburn joins Latham’s litigation team, specialising in technology, life sciences and AI disputes. He spent four years at Paul Hastings, where he headed the firm’s London IP and tech litigation practice, after joining from Baker McKenzie in 2022.
Paul Hastings hires new Funds and Private Credit Partner from Reed Smith
Maccailein Campbell joins Paul Hastings as Funds and Private Credit Partner. He joins from Reed Smith where he spent 12 years.
Kirkland & Ellis hires new Intellectual Property Litigation Partner
Owen Waugh joins as Partner in the IP Litigation team in London. He joins from European Intellectual Property Lawyers where he spent the past 8 years.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer announced today that Peter Allen will be joining the firm as a Debt Capital Markets Partner in its Finance and Restructuring practice, based in London. Peter joins from Freshfields where he was part of the corporate finance team.
Dentons strengthens London Restructuring practice with hire of Kevin Heverin
Kevin Heverin joins the Restructuring Practice in London from Baker McKenzie. His appointment reflects Dentons’ continued investment in strategic practices and further strengthens the firms’ market position.
Keystone Law hires new Corporate Partner
Yulia Vaynzof joins as Corporate Partner in the London office. She joins from Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP where she was Senior Attorney.
Burges Salmon boosts Energy & Utilities practice with appointment of David McEwing
David McEwing joins the firm from Addleshaw Goddard, where he was a Corporate Partner and former Co-Head of its global Energy & Utilities practice. He brings more than 25 years’ experience advising energy companies, offshore energy services businesses and their debt and equity funders in the UK and internationally, with particular expertise and focus on complex cross-border M&A and energy projects.
Burness Paull appoints leading Energy Partner to head exploration and production team
Burness Paull has appointed energy expert Sarah Vass as a Partner to lead the firm’s energy exploration and production (E&P) team. Sarah brings extensive experience of the energy sector, having served most recently as General Counsel for TotalEnergies E&P UK Limited.
Europe
Jones Day Raids Kirkland and Dentons for German Financial Markets Partners
Former Kirkland & Ellis Debt Finance Partner Jörg Weber in Munich and ex-Dentons Structured Finance and Banking Partner Arne Klüwer in Frankfurt join the financial markets team at Jones Day.
Gibson Dunn Adds Jens Hafemann As A Partner In Frankfurt
Gibson Dunn announced that Jens Hafemann has joined the firm’s Frankfurt office as a Partner in its Tax Practice Group, as the firm builds out its market-leading global and European tax platform in one of the region’s most important markets. Hafemann joins from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Middle East
Charles Russel Speechleys appoints Clyde & Co Partner as Middle East Corporate Head
UK law firm Charles Russell Speechlys has appointed Philip O’Riordan as a partner and head of its corporate practice in the Middle East. O’Riordan, who was earlier a Partner at Clyde & Co, will be based in Dubai.
Eversheds appoints Zeid Hanania as Middle East Managing Partner
Zeid Hanania will succeed Tawfiq Tabbaa from January 2027, taking the helm of a Middle East practice comprising more than 100 lawyers as his predecessor focuses on the firm’s Jordan and Iraq business.
DAC Beachcroft hire new Real Estate Partner in Edinburgh office
Clare Dewar joins the Real Estate team as Partner in Edinburgh. She joins from Brodies LLP where she worked as Legal Director.
Team
Gibson Dunn recruits entire Weil funds team in major London expansion
Gibson Dunn is set to hire Weil’s highly rated London private funds team leaders James Bromley and James Sargent, with six further partners expected to move alongside them. The wider partner group is expected to comprise Philip Baynes, Fiona Cumming, Aron Joy, Marc Schubert, Sophie Smith and Jacquelyn Volpe. It means a short stay at Weil for Cumming, who only joined from A&O Shearman in June where she co-led the firm’s global private funds practice. The funds team is expected to move in its entirety which would also include around 30 Counsel and Associates, taking the total team size to around 40.
Notable US Moves
Skadden Takes 2 Regulatory Partners From Weil
Two Weil, Gotshal & Manges Partners, Andrew Dean and Christopher Mulligan, are leaving for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the latter firm announced Tuesday. Dean will be resident in the firm’s New York office and practice in its white-collar and investigations group, while Mulligan, resident in Washington, D.C., will work in the firm’s investment management group.
Promotions & Appointments
Ropes & Gray names 26 new Partners as London makes a comeback
Ropes & Gray has announced its largest partner promotions round in at least three years, naming 26 new Partners globally, including four in London. David Dowling, Edward Machin, Dima Orendarets and Rupert Phillips are among those promoted in the firm’s London office, spanning its corporate, finance and regulatory practices. The promotions take effect on 1 January 2027.
Proskauer Announces 2026 Promotions Class
Proskauer announced the promotion of 32 lawyers: 21 to Partner and 11 to senior counsel. This year’s class of talented lawyers spans eight offices across the Firm, as well as six departments.
Addleshaw Goddard announces promotions across Irish practice | Irish Legal News
Following the promotion of Kate Field to employment partner earlier this year, Addleshaw Goddard recently announced further promotions across its Irish office. Among those promoted are Ann Kirwan who has been elevated to Counsel in the firm’s real estate practice and James Meighan who has been promoted to Counsel in the regulatory and disputes practice, as well as Ross Shaughnessy in the disputes practice, who is now Managing Associate.
McDermott promotion class continues strategic growth in New York and private capital
Global law firm McDermott Will & Schulte announced that it has promoted 36 lawyers to Partner and 4 to Counsel across its US and European jurisdictions, effective January 1, 2027. The promotions reflect the firm’s continued investment in the New York market, where 13 of the new Partners are located, and strengthen its private capital platform.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher names 24 new Partners
Willkie Farr & Gallagher has elected 24 new Partners, effective January 1, 2027, across 11 offices worldwide.
Cleary makes up one London Partner as global promotions fall to 15
Cleary Gottlieb has promoted 15 lawyers to Partner worldwide, including one in London, in a smaller round than last year’s 20-strong intake. Antitrust lawyer Lanto Sheridan is the sole London Partner promotion, down from two last year when litigator Paul Kleist and private equity lawyer Joanna Roberts made the cut. The firm has also promoted 16 Counsel. The round will bring Cleary’s global partnership to 257, alongside 57 Counsel.
Luciano Morello appointed as DLA Piper Country Managing Partner, Italy
Global law firm DLA Piper announces the appointment of Luciano Morello as Country Managing Partner (CMP) for Italy. Luciano joined the firm in 2015 and is Head of DLA Piper’s Finance practice and Debt Capital Markets & Structured Finance team in Italy. He advises leading financial institutions, investment banks, funds, and industrial groups on complex domestic and cross-border debt capital markets, structured finance, capital solutions, and sport finance transactions. Luciano has played a key role in the growth of DLA Piper’s Italian practice and the development of its international client offering.
Andrew Jenkinson appointed as Reed Smith London Office Managing Partner
Global law firm Reed Smith has announced that Andrew Jenkinson will return to the role of Office Managing Partner for London, succeeding Brigid North, effective November 1, 2026.
Jenkinson previously served as London Office Managing Partner from 2015 to 2024 and brings extensive leadership experience and a deep understanding of the London office, its people and its priorities.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
International law firm DAC Beachcroft has expanded into the Middle East with the opening of a new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), strengthening the firm’s ability to support clients across the insurance and health sectors. The launch represents DACB’s first office in the region and a significant milestone in its international growth strategy.
Stephenson Harwood and DLA Piper agree transfer of Bangkok office
Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP is expanding its Asia footprint with the launch of an office in Thailand, via the acquisition of DLA Piper’s Bangkok office. It will be the firm’s 12th office. The 40+ strong team, including four partners, strengthens the firm’s ability to support clients with interests in Thailand and the wider Southeast Asia region, offering comprehensive advice on both domestic and cross border matters.
Market Commentary
Weil set to dissolve as leadership recommends wind-down
Weil has told Partners it plans to wind down the firm, bringing one of the most dramatic collapses in modern Big Law history to a head after weeks of Partner departures and leadership turmoil. The New York firm’s management committee has recommended an orderly wind-down, with Partners expected to vote on the proposal in the coming days. The decision caps a remarkable few weeks for a firm that last year generated more than $2 billion in revenue and average Partner profits of more than $5 million.
City of London Law Society vows to support Weil trainees as firm faces closure
The City of London Law Society (CLLS) has pledged its support to Trainees and Junior Lawyers at Weil following news that the US law firm is preparing to wind down its operations. The society said its immediate concern was for those working in Weil’s London office, particularly junior lawyers facing uncertainty over their careers as the firm moves towards closure.
Milbank Smashes €200,000 Barrier in Germany as Associates Outearn Latham, Quinn
Milbank is to raise starting salaries for junior lawyers in Germany next year, with base pay for first-year associates increasing from €180,000 to €200,000 ($223,000) in addition to performance-based bonuses. The firm is also increasing salaries at the other seniority levels.
Paul Weiss follows Kirkland in pulling financial disclosures
Paul Weiss has followed Kirkland & Ellis in deciding to stop sharing its financial results with The American Lawyer, the publication behind the benchmark Am Law rankings. The New York-headquartered firm informed the publication of its decision on Thursday, according to the Financial Times.
German Big Law Hits the Brakes on Associate Hiring
Germany’s large law firms have sharply slowed Associate recruitment over the past three years, according to an analysis of Law.com Compass data covering 43 firms with offices in the country. The number of Associates joining those firms fell from 1,031 in the 12 months to October 2024 to 954 a year later and to 802 in the 12 months to October 2026. Measured against headcount, the intake rate dropped from 28% to 19%. Net associate growth slowed from 10.6% to 1.4%.
HMRC hires new Legal Chief from UK Government
HM Revenue & Customs has appointed a new General Counsel from the Government Legal Department (GLD). Mel Nebhrajani CB has joined HMRC as its Legal Chief after nearly three decades of legal posts within the UK Government.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
AI Enters the Courtroom as Dubai Rethinks How Lawyers Train and Judges Work
Dubai has become the latest testing ground for AI in legal training, with the launch of a virtual courtroom that allows junior lawyers to practise their cross-examination skills against simulated judges, witnesses and opposing counsel. Legaline Platform unveiled Meta Legal Space at the Dubai AI Festival this week as law firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and Clyde & Co, increasingly weigh artificial intelligence’s potential as a supervised training tool.
Latham teams up with Harvey to build AI-powered fund formation tool
Latham & Watkins has teamed up with legal tech Harvey to develop an AI-powered fund formation tool. The collaboration will work on capabilities covering the core elements involved in fund formation, including limited partnership agreements (LPAs), side letters, subscription documents and comment memos.
NautaDutilh launches in-house legaltech development platform Bluefield
Dutch law firm NautaDutilh has launched its own legaltech development platform to create tailored legal services to clients, and ensure that everyday legal tasks are delivered more efficiently. The Bluefield initiative, which brings together lawyers and software engineers to collaborate on tech development, will complement the AI tools the firm is already using.
Harvey’s latest legal AI buy adds to acquisition wave
Harvey has snapped up its fifth company of the year, acquiring AI-native sales execution platform Aida as a wave of dealmaking gathers pace among some of legal technology’s biggest players. Harvey said the acquisition would help law firms make better use of the information stored across their documents and internal systems, giving AI tools a deeper understanding of a firm’s work and making their outputs more relevant.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Weightmans launches anti-bullying campaign
To mark End Workplace Bullying Day this week, Weightmans has launched a campaign calling on employers to address the problem and create workplaces where harmful behaviour is recognised, challenged and stopped. According to research commissioned by the firm, from a nationally representative survey of 1,000 UK workers, a significant two in five workers (40 per cent) have been bullied or experienced negative behaviour at work.