Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling said on Wednesday that they have completed their long-planned merger, officially launching the largest transatlantic law firm combination in years. Two top leaders of the combined firm both come from Allen & Overy — Hervé Ekué in Paris was elected as managing partner and Khalid Garousha in Abu Dhabi as senior partner. Read more.
Also on Wednesday, London-founded Clifford Chance hired former Shearman and White & Case partners. UK-founded firms are gaining ground in the U.S. In addition to Allen & Overy, other London-founded law firms, including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters, have grown significantly in top U.S. markets in the last decade.
More from the legal industry:
Nearly half of law firm associates believe law school did not adequately prepare them for practice … Pass rates of the February 2024 bar exam rebounded after a COVID-19 slump … Reuters analyzed ABA data to determine which law schools are major pipelines for public interest and government law jobs and which schools had the highest percentage of 2023 graduates who landed jobs in Big Law … Lawyers behind a lawsuit that accused U.S. universities of favoring wealthy students for admission asked for $94.7 million in legal fees … Dentons and Boies Schiller were sued for $900 million over accusations that they misled a client … Clark Hill and one of its lawyers were accused of “recklessly” wiring $1.1 million to scammers … The U.S. Supreme Court was asked to strike down $667 million in legal fees in a $2.7 billion class-action settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield … Quinn Emanuel and Morgan Lewis are opening offices in Saudi Arabia following a change last year in the country’s rules governing foreign lawyers practicing there … And, find out which law schools dominated the federal clerk hiring market last year.
Moves:
In New York …
Nick Allen, who advises on derivatives and financial products transactions, joined Ashurst as a partner from Fried Frank … Loeb & Loeb brought on Lawrence Simon as a real estate partner from Morrison Cohen … Proskauer hired Jennifer Crystal as a private funds partner from venture capital firm WndrCo … Fried Frank added Audra Cohen as a partner in its asset management practice from Goodwin … Perkins Coie brought on Zach Hong as an IP partner from digital healthcare company Cleerly … Sheppard Mullin added Jared Nagley to its antitrust and competition practice group from Paul Weiss.
In Washington, D.C. …
Orrick hired finance and tech regulatory partner Ignacio Sandoval from Morgan Lewis.
In New Jersey …
Cole Schotz brought on Megan Kilzy, former chief of the financial crimes unit in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, as a litigation partner.
In San Francisco …
Greenberg Traurig hired technology litigator Michael Burshteyn, founder and former CEO of data security startup CryptoMove, as an IP partner from Morrison Foerster … Transactional partner Teresa Tate joined Reed Smith as chair of its U.S. emerging growth and venture capital team from Morrison Foerster.
In Los Angeles …
Hinshaw & Culbertson picked up insurance services lawyer David Hayek from Gordon Rees and consumer financial services lawyer Brian Paino from McGlinchey Stafford.
In Boston …
Kirkland hired investment funds partners James Donohue, Mirela Hristova, Michelle Kim and Joseph Baron from Goodwin … Ropes & Gray added former federal prosecutor Sarah Walters to its litigation and enforcement practice.
In Chicago …
Willkie hired private funds lawyer Nathaniel Marrs from DLA Piper.
In Detroit …
Honigman picked up corporate partner Joshua Damm from Fenwick.
In Atlanta …
Seyfarth Shaw added Michael Delaney as a corporate partner from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
In Brussels …
Ashurst brought on partner Claus Zimmermann as head of international trade from Noerr.
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