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
DLA’s London boss to join Eversheds ahead of verein vote
Ruth Hoy, DLA Piper’s London Managing Partner is set to join Eversheds Sutherland, alongside DLA Legal Director Huw Cookson, who joins his new firm as a Partner.
Paul Hastings adds PE Partner from Cooley in London
Paul Hastings has added Private Equity Partner Ferish Patel from Cooley in London.
Willkie Farr hires Private Equity Partner in London
Willkie Far has hired Corporate M&A Partner Miroslav Tomo from Kirkland’s Private Equity Real Estate and Infrastructure team.
Dentons appoints Corporate Partner Jack Donelan in London
Dentons has appointed former Kirkland & Ellis Partner, Jack Donelan as a Corporate Partner in London.
Jeremy Curran joins Beale & Co as Dublin Construction Partner
Beale & Co has appointed Jeremy Curran as a Partner in the firm’s Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure team in Dublin. Mr Curran joins from global law firm DLA Piper.
Macfarlanes hires Baker McKenzie sponsor‑side Finance Partner
Macfarlanes has bolstered its Leveraged Finance offering with Nicholas O’Grady who joins Macfarlanes after almost eight years at Baker McKenzie.
Europe
White & Case Takes Germany Tech Partner from Taylor Wessing
White & Case is expanding its Germany Tech practice with the addition of Norman Röchert from Taylor Wessing. Röchert was the Co-Head of Taylor Wessing’s International Technology practice.
Addleshaw Goddard Welcomes Jérémie Paubel as Partner in Paris Employment Team
Addleshaw Goddard welcomes Jérémie Paubel as an Employment Partner to lead its Paris Employment team. Jérémie has more than twenty years of experience and joins from Baker McKenzie.
Noerr strengthens Arbitration practice with Laura Yvonne Zielinski and boosts Space law expertise
Laura Yvonne Zielinski will be joining the Arbitration practice group headed by Anke Meier as an Associated Partner in Germany. Laura most recently worked as a Senior Counsel at U.S. law firm Holland & Knight in Mexico City.
Wolf Theiss strengthens Competition practice in Poland with new Partner
Mikołaj Piaskowski joins Wolf Theiss from Baker McKenzie as a Partner in the firm’s Competition and Antitrust practice in Warsaw.
Taylor Wessing hires Jan Hückel as M&A Equity Partner in Germany
Taylor Wessing continues to expand its Corporate/M&A practice with the appointment of transactional lawyer Jan Hückel as Equity Partner. Jan Hückel joins the firm from McDermott Will & Schulte.
Bird & Bird boosts Corporate team in Germany
International law firm Bird & Bird welcomes Dr. Carsten Böhm as a new Corporate partner in Munich. Dr. Carsten joins from McDermott Will & Schulte.
Elias van Kampen joins Fieldfisher Amsterdam office as a Partner in the Employment and Pensions practice. Elias joins from act legal.
Middle East
Addleshaw Goddard welcomes new Partner as Head of Tax
Addleshaw Goddard welcomes Nils Vanhassel as Partner and Head of Tax Middle East, based in Dubai. Nils joins from DLA Piper.
Team
Reed Smith strengthens Riyadh Corporate practice with team hire from AlAmmar Law
Reed Smith has hired a Corporate team from Saudi Arabia firm AlAmmar Law, including Mohammed Alammar and Anmar Algharifi as Partners in its Riyadh office.
Sidley Austin has hired two senior Restructuring Partners from Clifford Chance in London
Philip Hertz, Clifford Chance’s Global Co-Head of Restructuring and Insolvency, and Melissa Coakley, who leads the firm’s London Restructuring team, are both joining the US firm.
Shoosmiths adds PE duo from Trowers as London office expansion continues
Shoosmiths has boosted its London office with the hire of Private Equity Partners Tim Nye and Alison Chivers from Trowers & Hamlins.
Promotions & Appointments
Bird and Bird re-elects Christian Bartsch as CEO
International law firm Bird & Bird today announces that its partnership has re-elected Christian Bartsch as CEO for a further four-year term. Christian has served as CEO since April 2022.
Andy Hall to take reins at Shepherd and Wedderburn
Shepherd and Wedderburn has announced that Andy Hall will succeed Andrew Blain as managing partner from May 2026.
Edwin Coe announces Corporate leadership transition
Russel Shear is stepping down as Head of Department and Daniel Bellau is taking on the role of Head of Corporate.
Tim Johnson becomes Head of Business & Professional Risk at Browne Jacobson
Tim Johnson takes over from Jonathan Tardif as Head of Business & Professional Risk at Browne Jacobson.
Squire Patton Boggs names Andrew Wilkinson as next European Managing Partner
Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Andrew Wilkinson as its next European Managing Partner, succeeding Private Equity Partner Jonathan Jones in May.
CMS appoints Stephen Millar as Executive Partner
CMS announces the appointment of Stephen Millar as Executive Partner, effective 1 April 2026.
Linklaters elects 37 new Partners
Linklaters has announced the election of 37 new Partners, effective 1 May 2026. The cohort spans 11 practice areas and four regions, covering the UK, Europe, Asia and the US. The round is slightly up on last year’s 34 promotions globally.
Mishcon de Reya announces fee earner promotions
Mishcon de Reya has today announced that 13 individuals have been promoted to Equity Partner in the firm’s latest round of promotions, compared to 16 in the previous round.
Pinsents Masons Promotes 23 Lawyers to Partner
Pinsent Masons has promoted 23 lawyers to Partner in its latest round, including 16 in the UK and a further seven across EMEA and Asia Pacific, spanning multiple practice areas and offices. Last year, 18 lawyers were made up across Pinsents’s UK office out of 24 globally.
Skadden ramps up London Partner promotions in first round under new model
Skadden has promoted nine Partners in London as part of a 55-strong global round. This year’s global cohort is more than double last year’s 22, with the London intake up significantly.
Fieldfisher Promotes 12 Lawyers to Partnership
Fieldfisher announced 12 promotions to the Partnership, down from 13 last year but with a wider geographical spread. These promotions span multiple offices across Europe.
CMS Promotes 54 New Partners Across Global Network
International law firm CMS has announced the promotion of 54 new Partners across its global network, with the cohort spanning 29 cities in 21 countries. The latest round includes 27 women, 48% of the total – its highest proportion to date. Women made up 41% of last year’s 54-strong round and 33% of 2023’s record cohort of 65.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
Fatima Hussein Law Firm has recently launched in the United Arab Emirates
Founded by Emirati advocate Fatima Hussein, the boutique firm focuses primarily on criminal defence, while also offering comprehensive legal services across civil litigation, dispute resolution, family law, and real estate, in addition to employment, construction, intellectual property, and corporate and commercial advisory.
Mishcon moves ahead with UAE office launches amid regional tensions
Mishcon de Reya plans to launch offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi by April 2026, reflecting a strategic investment amid regional instability and a 40% revenue growth over five years.
“Divorce Diva” doubles down with Florence opening
Divorce firm Vardags has launched a new office in Florence, just three months after opening in Milan. The office will be led by Iacopo Tozzi, who leaves his own firm, Iacopo Tozzi Studio Legale, to join Vardags’ ranks. Tozzi brings with him lawyers Riccardo Di Fiore and Benedetta Aiello.
Mergers & Alliances
Mills Selig forms ‘strategic partnership’ with Hospitality Ulster
Northern Ireland firm Mills Selig has announced a “strategic partnership” with Hospitality Ulster, the membership organisation for Northern Ireland’s hospitality industry. The Belfast-based independent commercial law firm said the collaboration will strengthen its support for the region’s hospitality businesses, offering expert legal guidance across corporate, banking, property, licensing, employment, construction, litigation, private client, and insolvency matters.
PE-backed Lawfront buys Reading firm Field Seymour Parkes
Lawfront, the group of law firms backed by Blixt, has added another firm to its stable. Reading’s Field Seymour Parkes turned over £14.8m in 2024/25 and has around 70 lawyers, including 24 partners. It is Lawfront’s first acquisition of 2026, and its first since Trethowans last May. The group’s first acquisition came in 2021 and it has been backed by Blixt for the whole five-year period.
Weightmans merges with City and Leeds firms
Weightmans has bolted on two firms in the UK – City outfit Elborne Mitchell and Leeds firm Myton Law. Elborne Mitchell and Myton Law both have experience in advising on insurance and shipping matters.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Legora has announced the opening of its first office in Germany
The company has selected Munich as a base to accelerate growth across the DACH region.
Harvey officially open Dublin office, announces plans for 40+ roles
This week, Harvey officially opened its Dublin office at Riverside 2, Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. The company plans to grow its Dublin team to more than 40 employees over the next two years, marking a significant long-term investment in Ireland’s AI and business talent ecosystem.
Harvey signs with Paris Saint-Germain in latest sports partnership move
Harvey has signed a multi-year partnership with Paris Saint-Germain, pairing a rollout of its legal AI platform with high-visibility branding at one of Europe’s biggest football clubs, fresh off a funding round that propelled its valuation to $11 billion. Under the deal, the club’s in-house legal team will use Harvey’s platform across a range of workflows, including research, drafting and decision-making.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Perkins Coie rolls out AI-powered vacation scheme to widen access to Big Law
Perkins Coie has launched a virtual vacation scheme aimed at helping students from low-opportunity backgrounds break into the legal profession, as the firm continues to rethink traditional routes into Big Law. The 45-hour programme, developed in partnership with social mobility platform Zero Gravity, uses AI simulations to replicate the experience of an in-person scheme and prepare candidates for training contract recruitment.