Weekly Update - 14th October 2024
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Moves:
UK & Ireland
The firm’s rapidly expanding London business will benefit from David Pritchett’s expertise, the most recent appointment, who specialises in funds regulation.
After nearly five years at Goodwin, James Grimwood, who works on a variety of private equity transactions such as M&A agreements, leveraged buyouts, and venture investments, is scheduled to join Debevoise. Grimwood had worked at CMS for more than 22 years before joining the company in 2020.
Heidrun Walsh from Mishcon de Reya, an expert in international arbitration, and Crispin Daly of Paul Hastings, a contentious insolvency lawyer, become partners in a London business.
Ian Hargreaves from Covington & Burling has joined Quillon Law as a partner, strengthening the litigation firm’s proficiency in managing intricate and sizable fraud cases and investigations.
David Kirton has joined the Dublin-based intellectual property, technology, and data protection unit of the international law firm Eversheds Sutherland as a partner.
Andrew Barber is a seasoned financial regulatory partner who has joined Dentons’ expanding UK Regulatory and Investigations unit. After serving as a Managing Associate at Dentons, Andrew returns to the company from Pinsent Masons.
Fiona Egan and Yvonne O’Byrne have been named partners at Beauchamps.?Ms. Egan, a partner in the projects, infrastructure, and energy team, joins the company from Arthur Cox.?She has extensive construction and project management experience, specializing in both contentious and non-contentious matters in the areas of infrastructure, large-scale commercial and residential projects, manufacturing, logistics, energy and renewables, and more.
With the addition of partner Jesse Dalton, the law firm Bird & Bird has bolstered its London Tax unit. He will begin work on October 21.
Victoria Hills leaves Freshfields after 2 decades with?the firm in a rare hire by Macfarlanes.
Construction law experts Catherine Kay from Mills & Reeve and Matthew Phipps from Bevan & Brittan join UK national firm Capsticks.
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EMEA
In light of the increasing complexity of European litigation and arbitration, Pablo Do?ate Gazapo de Badiola joins Jones Day Madrid, strengthening its expanding global conflicts practice.
According to Patrice Navarro, Clifford Chance’s new partner in data, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, his AI work currently makes up over a third of his practice, and he anticipates that number to rise in 2025.
Marisa Delgado oversaw the implementation of the Swedish generative AI tool Leya while she was in charge of Pérez-Llorca’s knowledge management division.
BCLP has added George Rigo, well established at Orrick, as a partner in Paris to improve its capabilities in meeting increasing demand for advisory services on complex cross-border transactions.
Blake Jones leaves Paul Hastings after joining the firm in 2018. The move comes shortly after the firm’s London head of private equity, Chris Sullivan, left for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison together with senior finance partner Taner Hassan.
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APAC
Bingna Guo joins Morgan Lewis from White & Case. Bingna has experience in representing global companies, audit committees, and clients in cross-border investigations and enforcement actions. She has also advised on compliance programs and training in addition to overseeing complex disputes.
Melody Yang, a 14-year Simmons partner, just joined YaoWang, which was founded in 2022 by former Simmons & Simmons partner May Lu.
John Walker was previously head of Baker McKenzie’s Australian Tax Practice, he is now set to join Jones Day. Well known for his knowledge of the tax dimension of M&A, the move is expected to bring further expertise to Jones Day’s capabilities within this specialism.
The tax implications of M&A and other transactions are John Walker’s area of expertise.
Charlie Detmold, a banking and financial professional, will join Johnson Winter Slattery, a local firm.
Andersen Global member firm Halim Hong & Quek has recruited tax attorney Desmond Liew Zhi Hong as a partner at the Malaysian law firm Rahmat Lim & Partners, which is the association firm of Allen & Gledhill.
Dennis Li, a specialist in investment funds and digital assets, was hired as a partner in Hong Kong by offshore legal firm Ogier from rival Travers Thorp Alberga, where he served as a counsel.
Anthony RV Jacoba, a litigator, has been appointed as a partner and leader of the dispute resolution and insolvency practice group of Ocampo & Suralvo legal Offices, a Philippine legal company.
With the hiring of corporate lawyer Harshit Anand as a retained partner in its Gurugram office, JSA has maintained its position as the market leader in 2024.
Avryl Lattin is set to take on an in-house role at international development organisation Adara Group, adding to the growing list of partners exiting Clyde & Co.
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The Americas
Pamela Millard joined Cole Schotz’s corporate department in Delaware, the firm stated.
Stephen Mohr, who recently departed from the FTC, said he “anticipates agencies will continue to be aggressive in bringing merger enforcement challenges.
As a partner, Henry Leventis joins the business with an emphasis on health care customers and their need for compliance and investigations.
Winston & Strawn originally opened in Miami in 2022, and since then, the office has not added many new partners in that area, despite hiring a number of founding partners. Since starting the practice, it is now hiring Andrew Hinkes, its second partner with a focus on cryptocurrency.
The newest employee at Morgan Lewis with SEC experience is Rahul Patel. According to the firm, there are over 20 SEC graduates spread among its U.S. offices.
Joseph Profaizer’s hire is not the first time that Linklaters and Paul Hastings have traded partners.
Following a Polsinelli raid in July, Holland & Knight is expanding its Philadelphia office with Alex Selarnick and adding Greg Hoffnagle in New York, Both attorneys left Goodwin Procter and have been collaborating in the insurtech industry since 2018.
McGuireWoods bolsters energy coverage with partner hire from Balch & Bingham – The Global Legal Post
David Martin Connelly, an energy lawyer from Balch & Bingham, has joined McGuireWoods to strengthen the firm’s enforcement and regulatory expertise.
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In-House
Jill Kelley, who left in July, is being replaced by Andrew Lee, who has over 25 years of experience in sports law.
Deputy General Counsel Stacy Grant, who joined the specialty chemicals manufacturer last year, is taking Coleman’s place.
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Team Moves
Rodney Moore, a partner at Winston & Strawn, has already joined Jones Day and stated that Samuel Peca and Scott Delaney will move in shortly once they resolve any outstanding issues.
Emma Cochrane joins from Linklaters, meanwhile Louren?o Ventura returns from the EC. Richard Romney joined CMA in 2019 on an interim basis and no takes on a permanent role as senior legal director for the mergers, markets and regulatory appeals team.
Stuart H. Coleman, David Stephens and William T. MacGregor are due to leave an Am Law 50 firm for a legal practice with more than 200 attorneys that excels in the field of investment management.
In an effort to secure more government work, Holding Redlich has strengthened its Canberra team?by hiring Philip Jones-Hope, the head of KPMG Law’s government and defence group, and his six-person team.
Park Eun Young leaves?Park Arbitration Chambers, where he had taken on the role of independent arbitrator in 2022.
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Promotions & Appointments:
Attorney Linda Dale Hoffa has been named chair of the Pennsylvania State Committee for the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) for a two-year term, according to Dilworth Paxson.
In an effort to expand strategically, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry appointed Lisa Wilmore as its first chief business development and marketing officer and Erin Hulme as its chief operational officer.
Tracy Preston, who has served as Macy’s Chief Legal Officer for the past year, will be replaced by Cristina Gonzalez.
Veteran commercial litigator James “Jimmy” Adams will take office Feb. 1st, 2025.
In September 2023, Schellhase was named CEO of the alternative legal services company. Why he left the organization after only a brief period of leadership is unknown.
The high-ranking hires coincide with Big Law firms’ growing reliance on non-lawyers to spearhead expansion and growth plans.
The firm’s defence and litigation practice is where Mr Calvert has spent the duration of his career since training with the team.
John O’Doherty is KOD Lyons’ managing partner and his tenure on the Board of Governors and Guardians of the National Gallery of Ireland has been extended by a further 2 years.
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Mergers & Alliances:
Kenneth Van Winkle, managing partner of Lewis Roca, states, “We have had extreme difficulty representing our client base from other jurisdictions in their work in California.”
In light of the disruption caused by technology, law firms must reconsider their approach.
A LexisNexis 2024 Bellwether report has found that only one in ten small firms would consider a merger or acquisition, a figure which has declined steadily in recent years.
A familiar pattern emerges after the A&O Shearmen Merger as a string of partners are let go in the wake of the deal.
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Office Openings & Closing:
The lateral moves are consistent with its strategy to stock up on “A-plus practitioners” in places where the firm is already strong, said Willkie Midwest office leader Craig Martin.
“We have vastly more work in Miami than we can do,” stated co-managing partner John O’Sullivan. “Half my cases, I’m working with teams that are from the other offices.”
Major Lindsey & Africa consultant Jennifer Moss said, “Just because a certain legal market is hot does not mean that you should be there.”
Partner in charge Jeff Rosenfeld stated, “I’d like equal weight on both sides of town,” referring to Alston’s goal of expanding its new Century City office to match its DTLA footprint.
Three former Butler Snow attorneys joined rival British private client firm Charles Russell Speechlys earlier this year.
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Financials:
The boutique’s management stated that it hopes to reward associates for their hard work on important projects this year and aid in hiring by increasing associate compensation above market.
According to Robert Half Canada’s compensation guide, legal companies are expected to increase wages by 2% by 2025.
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Technology & Innovation:
It’s wise that the majority of attorneys remain cautious. AI presents moral dilemmas. Lawyers need to stay away from its various traps. These risks include depending too much on AI tools, not securing sensitive client data, and not communicating with the client or the court in an appropriate manner.
According to Marko Mrkonich, businesses should set up their AI compliance framework early on rather than after staff members have been accustomed to using AI in particular ways.
Leopard Prowess aims to increase exposure to smaller firms and give corporate counsel an advantage when engaging outside counsel.
Travis Whitsitt considers how AI is currently reshaping how attorneys work and how they can leverage the technology to improve their practises moving forward.
Chris Cartrett, CEO of Aderant writes that Instead of using their clients as test subjects for AI, legal tech vendors should lead by example and implement AI-powered transformations within their own operations to ensure innovative thought and ultimately, benefit for their clients.
Based on redlining rejections, the AI redlining tool can learn a user’s preferences while operating within Microsoft Word.
As part of the JAMS Next effort, the organization will use the court reporting and testimony management platform Prevail to provide AI transcript services, among other modifications.
In the upcoming months, parties will have access to AAAi Panelist Search, which enables case managers to conduct more in-depth panelist searches to suit the requirements of their cases.
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Diversity & Inclusion:
Julie Sebastian of Smith, Gambrell & Russell said, “Diversity is very important here. We want everybody to walk into the office every day knowing that they can be their full selves”.
Experts that that it’s time to step back and re-evaluate exactly what diversity, equity and inclusion mean for the workplace and for America’s business communities.
The statistics also show that corporation law’s representation of people with disabilities still terribly lags behind the national average.
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Market Commentary:
London co-head Neel Sachdev says, “It shows that if you hire the top talent… then the London legal market is a fantastic investment for law firms”.
One consultant noted, “People are less patient than they have ever been before. People want to be awarded now.”
Several top partners have left the U.S.-led law firm in Germany and the U.K., according to sources, who blame the departures on indecision and a move away from “less core” areas.
On World Mental Health Day, Nikki Edwards, president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, considers the evolving perspective on mental health in the industry.
Law companies may wish to take some time to consider the year’s events?and what they might witness in the next 12 months, according to The Global Lawyer, after a year?marked by conflict, office closures, and law?mergers.
Head of Research & Delivery | Associate Director; Retained Partner Mandates - Legal, EMEA
1 个月Looks like a busy week for UK moves. Great read, thanks William Carbutt-Todd