Weekly Update - 20th January 2025
Fides Search
Partner Search for Professional Services & In-House Legal, Co-Sec and Compliance, Financial Crime and Privacy Search
Moves:
In-House
According to Chris Shea, chief legal officer of MedQuest Associates, "Health care organizations face an increasingly complicated business landscape at the same time that the demand for their services is dictating rapid expansion, innovation, and operational shifts."
Regarding his tenure at Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, Marco Santori, the departing chief legal officer, remarked, "Just consider all the tough stuff that warrants a division of seventy full-time, stone-cold Socratic assassins."
The Texas Rangers are looking for a new general counsel to head their legal department as they struggle to find a partner to broadcast their games, two years after winning a World Series.
Linda Ford, who departed the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) last year, has been replaced as general counsel by Taria Barron. Barron previously worked as an attorney-advisor in the general law and ethics branch of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a US pension insurer.
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UK & Ireland
Since Chris Sullivan left for Paul Weiss last year, the company has been under pressure to increase its private equity offering. Since then, they have hired well known M&A partner Bruce Embley. Embley advises on private capital transactions for private equity and corporate clients.
With the appointment of partner Kirsti Massie, Stephenson Harwood LLP has expanded its practice in projects, energy, and infrastructure. She comes to the London-based business from Mayer Brown, where she co-led the infrastructure and projects division.
After little over six years, infrastructure specialist Simon Caridia is departing White & Case. Caridia also worked at Linklaters and CMS before becoming a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills. His work focuses on providing advice on a variety of topics, such as acquisitions, refinances, and restructurings, to industry sponsors, infrastructure and private equity funds, commercial bank lenders, multilateral agencies, and institutional investors.
The announcement that Patrick O’Gara, who is rated as a ‘highly regarded practitioner’ by World Tax, will be joining Skadden as the head of Tax Controversy, was made a few days after it was revealed that Bruce Embley, a prominent figure in private equity, was leaving for Clifford Chance.
Partner Marc Thorley is a strategic addition to Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's financial services disputes and investigations practice in London. He leaves his position as EMEA lead for the company's global financial institutions group at Baker McKenzie.
Wessen Jazrawi has become a partner in the Competition Litigation group at Mishcon de Reya.?Wessen specializes in complex cases involving competition. Wessen was a partner at Hausfeld prior to joining Mishcon de Reya, where she established a solid reputation in claimant-side litigation.
Sarah Smith, who led the UK competition unit at DLA Piper, joins. Smith worked at DLA for more than 21 years, during which time he gained knowledge in the fields of technology, media, communications, healthcare, and life sciences.
She joins Lewis Silkin from Eversheds Sutherland Ireland, where she led the employment team for many years. She advises clients on the employment law challenges that arise as a result of employment disputes and strategic HR issues.
Alex Chalk KC, the former secretary of state for justice and lord chancellor, has joined Jones Day's London disputes practice as a partner. Chalk, the first former Lord Chancellor to return to the criminal courts, joins the US firm.
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APAC
Hong Kong firm Deacons has poached Reed Smith’s banking and finance partner Michael Sinn in Hong Kong.
Global firm Holman Fenwick Willan has hired Graeme Gamble, an energy sector-focused mergers and acquisitions partner, from Herbert Smith Freehills to add to its Australian practice.
Ronald Sum, a seasoned conflicts attorney, recently joined the local boutique Hui Doe & Sum Law Firm after leaving his position as a partner in Baker McKenzie's Hong Kong office.
Noor M. Aziz, the third partner hired by Indonesian legal firm AVYA legal since July, has been named as the head of the firm's corporate, commercial, and business transactions practice group. With a focus on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), foreign direct investments, joint ventures, restructuring, and corporate compliance, Aziz has more than eight years of experience in corporate and commercial law.
Two new managing partners have been added to the Hong Kong law firm PC Woo & Co.: Gary Wong, a longtime corporate partner at the firm, and litigator Calvin Chow, who rejoined the business after a year at offshore firm Harneys.
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EMEA
Antitrust partner Stephen Mavroghenis, who is leaving Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, will head Goodwin Procter's new office in Brussels.
The firm's former managing partner in Germany, Thomas Ubber, will also be sending a staff to the new headquarters.
Former DLA Piper attorney Philip Hecht returns to his beginnings as a partner at BCLP after serving as general counsel for almost ten years at the Miral Group, based in Abu Dhabi.
The head of Watson Farley & Williams’ German public law and competition group, Felix Siebler, a partner at Watson Farley since 2018 who headed the Munich office as well as the Regulation, Public Law & Competition practice group in Germany for several years, has joined rival Graf von Westphalen (GvW), expanding GVW’s expertise in infrastructure and digitalization projects in the public sector.
Pierre-Olivier Mahieu has been advising clients on capital markets transactions, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for thirty years. In the banking, fintech, insurance, retail, aerospace, and energy industries, he has been a part of numerous noteworthy deals.
Together with their team of experts, Davide D'Affronto and Nicholas Lasagna will become new partners at Chiomenti, strengthening the firm's position as a leader in the finance sector. Davide D'Affronto will head the Lending and Leverage Finance division, while the new partners will join the Debt Finance Practice Area.
Clifford Chance has bolstered its private credit offering with the addition of Italian partner Gianluca Fanti, his practice focuses on advising Italian and global investment banks, funds and financial sponsors on bespoke structured debt solutions.
Chris Green, a former managing partner of Hogan Lovells in South Africa, has joined A&K, the Tanzanian branch of African network ALN, after the global firm left South Africa in December. After leaving Pinsent Masons in 2021 to work as a corporate and finance partner at Hogan Lovells, Green was named managing partner in 2023 and remained there until the firm's demise.
Johan Renes, a partner at Simmons & Simmons, has been appointed by the French intellectual property boutique Plasseraud IP to head its new Amsterdam office as it looks to expand globally. Renes has over 30 years of expertise working with top pharmaceutical and life science firms, offering advice on patent litigation, licensing, and strategy. She brings three patent attorneys and a senior paralegal to the table.
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The Americas
Nema Milaninia helped shape policy related to cybersecurity and emerging technology for the U.S. State Department.
Robin L. Felty, the company's chief operating officer (COO), just joined Barley Snyder.
Matthew P. Donelson just joined Rawle & Henderson as an attorney in the Wilmington office.
Ryan Majerus, a former acting assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance at the U.S. Department of Commerce, stated that the company's "established and highly respected international trade practice" was "a big reason I came here."
Leaders of law firms and industry insiders have recently cited Boston as a promising location for investment.
At Vinson & Elkins, Jon Niermann anticipates helping project developers get permits and defending clients in enforcement proceedings.
With fourteen years of experience advising businesses on complex personnel and commercial conflicts as well as compliance issues, litigator Gretchen E. Woodruff has joined McGuireWoods as a partner in Pittsburgh.
Reuniting with former coworkers, toxic tort litigators Kara McCall and Beth Chiarello founded the firm in July 2024.
In July 2013, President Barack Obama initially nominated Schmidtlein, a Democrat from Missouri to the ITC.
After over 25 years at Quinn Emanuel, David Perlson joins Hogan Lovells.
Blank Rome have announced that Daniel J. Sobol and Brandon S. Shemtob have joined the firm’s nationally recognized Labor & Employment group in Philadelphia. Daniel and Brandon represent national and regional employers across industries in a range of traditional labour, union, and employment matters. They join Blank Rome from Stevens & Lee.
Additionally, Constangy adds IT experts in two cities, while FisherBroyles adds an IP partner in Silicon Valley.
In addition to other changes, Einhorn Barbarito recruited a partner to the firm's practice groups in accidents and personal injury, real estate, commercial litigation, estate, trust and probate litigation, and family/matrimonial.
Philip Sellinger will be rejoining the firm as of Feb 1st. He founded the firm's New Jersey office in 2002.
In addition to hiring an M&A partner from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the city, Sidley Austin has appointed a senior partner from Jones Day in New York as a worldwide co-leader of its M&A practice. After working at Jones Day for almost 13 years, most recently as the M&A chair for the Americas, David Grubman has joined Sidley.
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Team Moves?????
The "continued strategic expansion" of the company's transactional services in New York will be aided by David Grimes and Patrick Rowe.
Elizabeth Weiswasser books has generated at least $80 million in revenue. She was a 30-year veteran of Weil.
Morris Manning & Martin managing partner Simon Malko stated that the firm has been working “closely” with a consultant on the firm’s new strategic plan since July “to map out the future of our corporate practice.”
With the addition of the team from Vogt, Resnick & Sherak, the Texas-based firm's Irvine office now includes 19 attorneys, one year after it first opened in California.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo continues to expand its Toronto office with the addition of three new partners, Emily Y. Fan, Geoffrey Cher, and Adam Banack from some of the city’s top business and litigation firms.
By incorporating a 25-person team from Hogan Lovells, comprising two partners and 19 attorneys, R?dl & Partner has increased its footprint in Poland.
Dr. Adrian L?ser (Local Partner) and Dr. Elisa Kottlors (Counsel) are from Berlin and Munich, respectively, and Dr. Nina Springer (Equity Partner) and Léon Wolters (Equity Partner) have joined the Hamburg office, along with Dr. Franziska von Kummer (Local Partner) and Inge Ditscherlein (Assistant). With an emphasis on the automotive, mechanical engineering, and healthcare sectors, the team's areas of competence include offering employment law assistance on restructurings and reorganizations.
CMS has eliminated 15 positions from its real estate unit in the United Kingdom due to concerns about additional layoffs in the sector sparked by economic instability. The firm conducted comparable job cuts less than 18 months ago, dumping colleagues in its corporate division, which led to the layoffs that are affecting associates and counsel.
领英推荐
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Financials:
As a general counsel, Eddie Lazarus has proven to be adaptable. Between 2022 until the beginning of last year, Lazarus alternated between being the chief strategic officer and the chief financial officer.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general nominee of President-elect Donald Trump, has a net worth of over $12 million.
According to firm executives and experts, the compensation of nonequity partners may be comparable to or overlap with that of senior associates, counsel, and certain equity partners.
In just five years, the London office's revenue has more than doubled, and in 2024, it will reach ￡200 million for the first time, according to Quinn’s.
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Promotions & Appointments:
DA for Albany County Jennifer Aguila has been appointed chief of staff by Lee Kindlon, while Joseph Meany has been appointed chief assistant district attorney.
Ten offices around the world house the new partners. They will strengthen the firm’s teams serving the tech, energy, finance and life sciences sectors.
There are nine firmwide promotions, including four Connecticut attorneys. The new partners and counsel represent a range of practice areas, including business litigation, intellectual property, real estate, environmental, insurance, and managed care and ERISA litigation.
Five individuals have been chosen to become partners in three states by the Birmingham-based firm. Stephen Broadus from the Gulfport, Mississippi office of the company, Kye C. Handy and Anne Harlan Latino from the Jackson, Mississippi office, Christy Boardman Kuklinski from the Birmingham, Alabama office, and Christopher Walker from the Jacksonville, Florida office are among the new partners.
Rising talents are promoted to firm partnerships by a premier boutique with offices in Houston and Chicago. Lori Arakaki litigates complex commercial disputes before federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as in arbitration proceedings. Conversely, Dan Scime focuses his practice on complex civil litigation, including trials and appeals.
The U.S. Solicitor General's Office will be temporarily led by the Williams & Connolly partner until John Sauer, Trump's nominee, is anticipated to be confirmed by the Senate.
Vedder Price stockholder Javier Lopez has been added to the Planning, Zoning, & Appeals Board's board. Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, nominated each of the board's eleven members.
Milbank, a U.S. business, has promoted 17 attorneys, including three in London, to its worldwide partnership. Compared to the 12 promotions the company made in 2024; this year's cohort represents an increase of 5. With ten promotions, New York accounts for the majority of the new partners. Similarly, In Munich, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, two attorneys received promotions.
In Lima, managing partner Ricardo Escobar will return to supervise the project finance and energy and natural resources practices, while M&A partner Luis Vargas and finance partner Sergio Barboza will co-manage the office.
As the SFO's most senior attorney, Matthew Wagstaff will succeed current general counsel Sara Lawson KC and assume the new position of "director of legal services." Since joining the SFO in 2012, Wagstaff has served as both the head of fraud and corruption and the joint head of bribery and corruption.
Longtime managing partner James Miller's successor has been chosen by the city-based legal company RPC. On May 1st, 2025, litigator Antony Sassi will start a four-year tenure, replacing Miller, who has held the position since 2017.
Spanish attorney Almudena Arpón de Mendívil y Aldama has been replaced as the International Bar Association's president by Jaime Carey, senior partner of Carey Abogados, the biggest law company in Chile. With 80,000 attorneys in 170 countries, the organization has been around for 80 years, and Carey is the first Chilean and fourth Latin American to serve as its president.
Ciara Christie has been elevated to director at Turley Legal, a practice based in Northern Ireland. Since becoming a licensed solicitor in 2016, Ms. Christie has worked in the real estate industry and has substantial experience with both residential and commercial properties.
Lisa Mansfield has joined RDJ's dispute resolution practice as a partner. In addition to her primary practice of commercial litigation, which includes advising insurers in professional indemnity litigation and inter-company conflicts, Ms. Mansfield specializes in dispute settlement.
Senior associates Alison Carroll, James Fitzgerald, Daniel Lucey, and Seán Mulvey have been elevated to the position of counsel at McCann FitzGerald.
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Diversity & Inclusion:
On LinkedIn Roy Austin wrote, "I must acknowledge the complexity and challenges of our work. Building for everyone, listening to everyone, and meeting the needs and expectations of our global community is pretty much impossible”.
The Philadelphia Bar Association, which has 8,500 members and places a high priority on social responsibility, community service, and equal justice, has appointed Virginia G. Essandoh, chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer at Ballard Spahr, as its diversity chair.
In the 63-year history of Farella Braun + Martel, Holly Sutton and Karen Kimmey are the first female co-managers.
Both domestic and foreign firms are keeping a close eye on the case because it has the potential to either support or contradict the B-BBEE regulation, which would affect South African legal firms that have local corporations.
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Office Openings & Closing:
Trial attorney Mary-Olga "Mo" Lovett, who formerly worked at King & Spalding and Greenberg Traurig, started her own business so she could have more control over her docket and avoid conflicts and Big Law charging rates.
This office is Buchalter's third new location since 2023.
The firm's former Shenzhen head departed for DLA Piper in November.
Last week, Lundgrens lost an employment partner to the Danish company Mazanti-Andersen and a group of 13 partners to DLA Piper.
In addition to its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the company is opening a new office in Johor Bahru.
According to firm officials, the goal of the new Milan office is to assist Italian businesses looking to launch in the United States.
As tax and trade lawyer Riza Buditomo departs the partnership at Armand Yapsunto Muharamsyah & Partners (AYMP) to start Anagata Law Firm, which will concentrate on corporate, commercial, trade, and tax work, a new player has entered Indonesia's quickly expanding legal market.
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Mergers & Alliances:
After formally merging with Phoenix-based Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie, the Am Law 100 firm now has four new office managing partners, as well as Merrick Benn as its new chair and CEO.
Some industries, such as banking and telecommunications, had been liberalized and made accessible to international investors prior to the establishment of the Ethiopia Securities Exchange (ESX).
The legal division of the Warsaw-based Crido Group, which merged with Reon Legal, a spinoff from Noerr last year, is gaining new clients, including banks and businesses from German-speaking nations.
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Technology & Innovation:
The startup employs AI to find possible mass tort claims, create evidence, and establish causal relationships.
The standards-based contract review capabilities of Screens will be integrated into the private equity-backed CLM.
To see how corporate counsel is using AI, including generative AI, to handle complicated tasks, evaluate big datasets, and improve strategic decision-making, join the webcast.
Following the company's acquisition of legal tech firm Laer AI, which had received funding and support from Sullivan & Cromwell, the new Assistant and the opening of Epiq AI Labs follow.
A recent study has discovered that the majority of legal and compliance professionals believe that artificial intelligence has the potential to help them significantly reduce their ever-escalating workloads, but they remain diffident toward the rapidly developing innovation.
As businesses and clients become more accustomed to the new technology, leaders from Florida's top ranked Am Law 100 companies anticipate further adoption of AI this year.
Highlights of some of the difficulties posed by GenAI, as well as new advancements in trademark and copyright law in this rapidly changing field.
The startup will be able to concentrate on hiring and implementing features specifically designed to assist personal injury firms thanks to the fundraising round, which is headed by Andreessen Horowitz.
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Market Commentary:
The Big Four firm's application for an ABS license was unanimously approved by the Arizona Supreme Court's Committee on Alternative Business Structures.
According to this year's top 20, American companies are still gaining ground in the UK M&A sector, with rival Kirkland & Ellis not far behind.
Private equity associate Arun Sohan-Pall, who launched his career with help from The PRIME alliance, "I still remember arriving in London wearing my 20 quid suit."
According to Jeff Lowe of CenterPeak, increases in salary for attorneys may wind up in "no man's or no woman's land."
According to Howard Fischer, a former senior trial counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, this "is an incredible opportunity for both U.S. and non-U.S. lawyers who want to help companies" navigate the new climate. At the annual conference of the New York State Bar Association, the panellists gave speeches.
Many young attorneys struggle to meet the increasingly flexible standards of the legal profession. Even while the majority sincerely want to achieve, they appear to be passing up chances to take charge of their work and growth in favour of waiting for clear instructions or viewing projects as discrete jobs rather than possibilities for personal growth.
With a number of surprising partnerships, Donald Trump's re-election has ushered in a new age of transatlantic cooperation in the legal sector.
Over the coming lawyers are likely to face an overwhelming array of fresh challenges as AI becomes more widely used by clients and firms alike.