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
Fried Frank hires from Kirkland in transatlantic Funds push
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson has recruited two Partners in London and New York. Kirkland Funds Partner Rhett McPhie is joining Fried Frank’s M&A and Private Equity practice in London, while Morgan Lewis & Bockius Partner Nathan Pusey is moving to the firm in New York.
Sullivan & Cromwell gains another Weil Partner in latest City buildout
Jenny Choi, a Banking and Finance Partner who worked under Chris McLaughlin and Alastair McVeigh, becomes the latest Weil Partner to make the move to Sullivan & Cromwell.
DLA Piper Adds More Partners as it Continues Hiring Spree
DLA Piper has added three new Partners its London office including Ashurst’s Corporate Partner Markjan van Schaardenburgh, former Linklaters Finance Partner Mark Brown, and Reed Smith Tax Partner Gareth Amdor.
BCLP boosts Private Equity Real Estate bench with Gibson Dunn hire
BCLP has added to its London Real Estate bench with the hire of Private Equity Real Estate Partner Claibourne Harrison from Gibson Dunn.
Harneys strengthens Jersey Banking & Finance practice with new Partner hire
Harneys has bolstered its Banking & Finance practice with the appointment of Katrina Edge as a Partner and Head of its Banking & Finance practice in Jersey. Katrina moves from Ogier.
Taylor Wessing Appoints Gemma Grunewald as a Partner in London
Taylor Wessing UK announced the appointment of Gemma Grunewald as a new Partner at their London Tax practice. Gemma joins the firm from DLA Piper.
Greenberg Traurig Accelerates Strategic London Growth with Real Estate and Sports Hires
Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues the strategic growth of its London office with the addition of Simon Elliott (HSF Kramer) as a Shareholder in the Real Estate Practice and Robert Turner (Bird & Bird) as a Shareholder in the Entertainment, Media & Sports Practice.
Gibson Dunn Expands Renowned Labor and Employment Practice with Senior Partner Robbie Sinclair
Robbie Sinclair has joined the Gibson Dunn’s London office as a Partner in its renowned Labour and Employment Practice Group. He joins from A&O Shearman.
Neil Hay joins Brodies’ Corporate Crime practice
Brodies LLP has added to its Corporate Crime practice with the appointment of new Partner Neil Hay. He joins from Levy & McRae Solicitors.
Cadwalader Grows Restructuring Team Ahead of Merger With Hogan
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft bolstered its Financial Restructuring practice ahead of its merger with Hogan Lovells. Shai Schmidt joins the New York office from Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes and Jakeob Brown joins as a Partner in the London office from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Mayer Brown welcomes Andrew Pendleton (Tokyo), Justen Fleming (Tokyo), Andrew Gibb, and Fiona Gulliford (Singapore) as Partners, marking a major strategic expansion of the firm’s English law Project Finance capabilities within its Global Energy practice. Pendleton and Fleming move from Milbank. Gibb also moves from Milbank, where he was Special Counsel. Gulliford joins from Trinity International.
Kelly Geiger joins as Partner at Kingsley Napley
Kelly Greig joins Kingsley Napley as a Partner in their International Private Client practice in London. She joins from STEP.
Taylor Wessing Strengthens Competition practice with appointment of leading expert Stephen Whitfield
Stephen Whitfield joins as a new Partner in Taylor Wessing’s London Competition practice. He joins from Travers Smith.
Europe
Kirkland hires Milbank Partner to work across Munich and London
Kirkland & Ellis has hired Private Equity Partner Sebastian Heim from Milbank.
Cathrine Foldberg Møller joins DLA Piper Luxembourg
Cathrine Foldberg Møller, Partner at Simmons & Simmons, joins DLA Piper Luxembourg to head up a Financial Services Regulatory practice.
Maples and Calder (Luxembourg) SARL is pleased to announce that Emmanuel Lamaud has joined its Corporate team as a Partner. Lamaud joins from Hogan Lovells.
Fieldfisher launches Real Estate Practice in Munich with Partner hire Michael Ziegaus Clavien
European law firm Fieldfisher has expanded its German Real Estate offering with the appointment of Michael Ziegaus‑Clavien who joins from DLA Piper.
Eversheds Sutherland strengthens Disputes team
Michiel Coenraads has joined as an International Disputes Partner in the Netherlands. He joins from joins from DLA Piper, where he headed the firm’s International Arbitration Practice in Amsterdam.
Middle East
Gibson Dunn hires Linklaters’ Saudi Managing Partner to grow Riyadh presence
Gibson Dunn has hired Linklaters’ Saudi Arabia Managing Partner Waleed Rasrommani (Corporate/M&A) to grow its presence in Riyadh.
Dechert hires new Dubai Managing Partner from White & Case
Phillip Sacks rejoins following two-year stint at White & Case, where he led the Middle East Funds Practice.
Team
Bird & Bird further boosts Data Protection team in France with double Partner hire
International law firm Bird & Bird further strengthens its market-leading international Privacy & Data Protection team with the arrival of experts Romain Perray and Lorraine Maisnier-Boché as new Partners in Paris. Both Partners join from McDermott Will & Schulte.
Promotions & Appointments
PE-backed FBC Manby Bowdler secures first bolt-on
Following the acquisition of Jordans Solicitors, Managing Director Michael Jordan joins FBCMB’s partnership in the West Midlands.
Broadfield appoints Energy Head among five Partner hires across UK and US
Broadfield has appointed Gavin Watson from Pillsbury as Global Head of Energy and Infrastructure as part of a five-Partner hiring round across London and New York. In London, the firm added Private Wealth Partners Jonathan Kropman from JMW Solicitors and Katherine Forster TEP, formerly Mishcon de Reya.
OBH Lawyers Appoints Giuseppe Falvo as Partner and Head of Criminal Law
The Dubai-based law firm, OBH Lawyers, has appointed Giuseppe Falvo as Partner and Head of its Criminal Law Department.
Kane Tuohy LLP welcomes new Real Estate Partner
Kane Tuohy LLP has promoted Kate Marquis to Partner in the firm’s Real Estate team.
Licensing specialist Richard McLaughlin joins Foot Anstey McKees
Foot Anstey McKees has appointed Hospitality and Licensing specialist Richard McLaughlin as a Legal Director in Belfast.
Seven lawyers promoted at Maples and Calder
Maples and Calder, the Maples Group’s law firm in Ireland, has promoted two senior lawyers to Partner and five to Of Counsel. Funds and Investment Management lawyer Richard O’Mahony and Finance lawyer Úna Killeen are the two new Partners in Ireland.
Ewan Forsyth joins McKee Campbell Morrison in Scotland
McKee Campbell Morrison (MCM) has announced the appointment of Ewan Forsyth as Associate Director in its growing Private Client team.
Danish government’s top law firm ushers in new boss
Poul Schmith has today ushered in a new Managing Partner, with Finance and Insolvency lawyer, Rune Derno, stepping into the role after more than 23 years with the firm. He succeeds Jens Bødtcher-Hansen.
Firm and Market Activity
Office Openings & Closings
Anderson Mori opens Paris office amid European growth push
Big Four Japanese firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune (AMT) has opened an associated office in France, as it continues to expand across Europe. AMT said the new office would enable it to offer integrated legal support covering Japanese law, French law and EU law to Japanese companies engaged in M&A, investments and disputes in France, as well as French companies operating in Japan.
Watermans opens new office in Dunfermline
Located in Pitreavie Business Park in the south of the city, it represents a significant six-figure investment for the firm.
Mergers & Alliances
PE-backed FBC Manby Bowdler secures first bolt-on
FBC Manby Bowdler (FBCMB) has made its first acquisition since being bought by private equity house Horizon Capital at the end of 2024. The firm has bolted on Jordans Solicitors, which focuses on private client, family and conveyancing, has offices in Blackheath and Halesowen and a team of around 30.
Harvey buys AI start-up in second acquisition of the year
US legaltech Harvey has bought AI-powered customer integration platform Lume, marking its second acquisition this year. Lume, which was founded in 2023 and based in New York, was backed by Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, and General Catalyst.
Financial Results
Akin posts record 2025 financial results amid Middle East expansion and Riyadh office launch
Akin posted another year of record financial performance in 2025, with its expanded Middle East presence emerging as a key driver of firmwide growth. Firmwide revenue increased by 14.5% to $1.71 billion.
Cadwalader’s City Turnover nears $75m ahead of HogLov merger
Cadwalader’s London office saw its turnover inch up from the previously reported $70m to $74.7m. The latest figure represents growth of around 6.7 per cent year on year, according to a firm spokesperson. Cadwalader has not yet reported its firmwide results, though it is understood to be above the $600m mark.
Hogan Lovells tops $3bn revenue in final results before Cadwalader merger
The firm reported revenue of $3.28 billion for the year, up 10% from $2.96 billion in 2024. Profit per equity partner rose to $3.52 million, with the firm reporting particularly strong growth in the US where PEP increased by around 24%.
King & Spalding’s London revenue jumps by 50 per cent
Atlanta-headquartered firm King & Spalding has announced its London revenue grew by 48 per cent in the 2025 financial year, taking the total figure to $148.2m. Firmwide revenue for the firm, which has offices in 26 locations across the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, grew by 13 per cent to $2.7bn.
Innovation & Culture
Technology & Innovation
Intapp strikes deals with Anthropic and Harvey
Intapp has unveiled partnerships with Anthropic and Harvey in the latest example of long-established legaltech firms teaming up with AI specialists to enhance their products and services. The California-based firm will use Anthropic’s Claude models to build its own AI agents, while separately it has struck a deal to integrate its compliance software into Harvey’s legal AI platform.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
International Women’s Day 2026: Why Gender Equality in Law Still Matters
Read our latest blog exploring the structural barriers preventing greater gender equality in the legal profession and the steps law firms can take to build a more equitable future.
Hogan Lovells partners with LawFairy to offer pro bono support for undocumented children in the UK
Hogan Lovells has launched a new technology initiative with LawFairy to help pro bono charities determine whether undocumented children in the UK can apply to become British nationals by using an innovative decision-support system to streamline immigration advice and triage.