Kirkland & Ellis opened an office in Riyadh and hired two new partners. Noor Al-Fawzan and Manal Al-Musharraf, who specialize in M&A and corporate affairs, have joined the Chicago giant’s 20th international office, focusing on capital markets, from Latham & Watkins and White & Case respectively. Kirkland partner Kamran Bajwa, who has overseen the firm’s Middle East operations since 2011, will lead the new Riyadh office, which will serve as the headquarters for the Middle East.
McDermott is strengthening its finance practice in Germany by hiring partner Matthias Weissinger from Ashurst in Munich. Weissinger’s extensive expertise includes advising sponsors, debt funds, national and international financial institutions and corporate clients on a variety of financing matters, including corporate lending and complex restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings.
Elsewhere in Europe, Allen & Overy has hired Dentons partner Pion Kerckhart as a financial control partner for the ICM practice group in Amsterdam. Kerckhaert’s appointment will enhance the financial regulatory services in the Netherlands and the EU, leveraging her extensive knowledge of Dutch and European regulatory law, particularly in financial regulation and the representation of banks, insurers and private investors.
Back in London, Brown Rudnick has hired Derval Walsh, formerly Mishcon de Rea’s head of finance and banking disputes, who has now joined its London office as a partner. Leaving a 13-year long career at Mishcon, Walsh focuses on complex financial and bonding disputes and has acted in both UK and international court cases.
What I do is that there are very few firms in London that have the ability to act against large retail and investment banks, and Brown Rudnick is one of those firms. There’s also the added dimension of the company’s American presence, which makes it a very interesting proposition,” Walsh said Legal business.
“There is likely to be a significant upheaval at banks, mostly due to rising interest rates. Large real estate and corporate borrowers will be more vulnerable to the impact of higher interest rates, and we will see an increase in the number of cases where banks operate on borrowers and counterparties due to the stress created in this improved interest rate environment.”
Also in London, Mayer Brown has recruited Sarah Garvey, a long-time partner at A&O, to strengthen its litigation and dispute resolution practice. With 30 years of experience, Garvey advises clients in cross-border financial and commercial court proceedings and arbitrations on behalf of clients in transaction-related litigation and risk matters.
London managing partner Dominic Griffiths said. LB‘The recruitment team is part of a larger strategy for us in the London office to expand our litigation team. She brings unparalleled excellence in impunity, jurisdiction and enforcement experience. The litigation team is really busy, so hiring Sarah is an opportunity to build on that and expand the team.’
However, Mayer Brown faces bankruptcy in Tokyo as M&A partner Gordon Palmquist moves to Freshfields. Noah Carr also left Latham & Watkins to join Freshfield in Tokyo, where he advises on issues such as public and private acquisitions, private equity and growth capital investments, joint ventures and strategic alliances in Japan. Corporations, investors and international funders. Both partners are US qualified and registered foreign attorneys in Japan.
Back in London, Herbert Smith Freehills has strengthened its global cyber and information security team with the addition of partner Peter Dalton, who joined from Stephenson Harwood. At Stephenson Harwood, Dalton led the Technology Disputes and Cyber practice and served as the Principal Partner for Cyber Advisory and Incident Response. Dalton is joining HSF in 2019, having previously worked with the firm as a senior associate.
BDB Pitmans has expanded its family team by bringing in board partner Vandana Chitroda. Previously leading the family law group at RIAA Barker Gillette, Chitroda brings extensive experience advising on matters such as prenuptial agreements, divorce, civil partnerships, cohabitation disputes and child arrangements.
to speak LB Of her move, she said, ‘I wasn’t thinking of moving. I was very happy where I was, but I spoke to someone at BDB, who wanted a stable family partner to lead the team. It seemed like a great opportunity. I felt ready to step back because I had kids, so I felt ready to get back in.’
Keystone Law also announced the addition of four partners. Ince’s former partners Max Robinson and David Sutherland have joined the firm’s dispute resolution and residential property teams respectively. In addition, Julie Morrissey from Clyde & Co and Joe Bellhouse from Knights have both joined Keystone’s construction and engineering team as partners.
Fladgate has appointed finance and restructuring partner Georgia Coonby from Morgan Lewis to join the cash, finance and regulatory practice in London. With more than 15 years of experience, Quinby advises clients on complex matters in finance, including asset-backed loans, acquisition finance, project finance, special situations and restructuring.
Similarly, insolvency partner Michael Mulligan has moved from Kingsley Napley to Haynes & Boone, strengthening the firm’s London office with a new structure and litigation. Mulligan’s experience covers corporate recovery, bankruptcy, fraud, asset recovery and enforcement in various jurisdictions.
Giving his market forecast for the coming months, Mulligan told LB: ‘A troubled economy has created the perfect storm for controversial bankruptcies and restructurings. With low growth, high inflation and relatively high interest rates mounting pressure on many businesses, the overall number of bankruptcies is approaching levels seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
“This year saw a sharp increase in distressed businesses as they defaulted on debt, ran out of cash and tightened creditor crackdowns. As corporations get into financial trouble, the demand for insolvency and restructuring services increases dramatically, and we see an increase in fraud-based litigation.’
Osborne Clarke welcomes TLT partner Nolaine Matmera to its London-based financial services team. Matmera’s expertise lies in advising banks, self-invested private pension providers, asset managers, payments and intermediary companies on the regulatory framework for financial services in the EU and the UK.
Globally, Reed Smith has hired Sidley partner Han Ming Ho as a partner in its global corporate group in Singapore. Having previously led Sidley’s Asia Investment Funds practice and been recognized as a leading individual by Legal 500, he has over two decades of experience in structuring and establishing a wide range of investment funds, including sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds and real estate funds. .
Praj Samant, Managing Partner, Asia-Pacific, Reed Smith said: “We are delighted to bring Han Ming on board. His hiring reflects our growth strategy in Asia; To attract the best talent in the market as we continue to develop our own. The practice will seamlessly integrate with our US, UK and European finance teams, ensuring an asset to our clients in Asia and globally.’
Simpson Thatcher expanded its energy and infrastructure experience by hiring Gabriel Silva from Vinson & Elkins in New York. Recognized as a Next Generation Partner in Corporate & M&A by the Legal 500, Silva brings expertise in advising infrastructure market participants on mergers, acquisitions, outlooks with a focus on digital infrastructure transactions.