Headline Partner Moves in September 2017 – January 2018

Introduction

Our first report of the year allows us the opportunity to look back on a fascinating 12 months in the lateral recruitment market in London.

In terms of volume, the number of partner moves in London has remained remarkably consistent over the last few years. In 2017 we reported on 445 moves in London. Whilst this was down on the 537 moves of the preceding 12 months, 75 of those 2016 moves were from the disintegrating KWM, so the more accurate figure for comparison purposes is 462 moves in 2016. Even if we subtract the 16 moves of legacy KWM partners in 2017, this still leaves us with a total of 429 headline partner moves, a slight decline on 2016, but not significant enough to show any particular trend. What is abundantly clear is that Brexit has not killed the lateral market as some had predicted it might - and the appetite of firms to hire partners and teams from competitors remains high.

According to our data, Clyde & Co and Simmons & Simmons were the most prolific acquirers of partner talent in London last year, with 11 new partners joining both these firms in 2017. DAC Beachcroft and Reed Smith were just behind, with 10 laterals each. The elite US firms tend to steal the headlines when it comes to lateral moves but, interestingly, it is very much quality rather than quantity which informed their hiring in 2017. Of the big beasts of US law, only Kirkland & Ellis feature in our top hiring firms of 2017 with seven hires into London. By contrast, in 2016, Kirkland’s eight laterals were somewhat overshadowed by Latham’s 13, Sidley’s 12 and White & Case’s 11 hires. None of these firms make it to the top table this year. Is this a sign of increased caution amongst the top US firms or simply an example of how hiring happens in waves, with firms pausing for breath and integration after going on a lateral hiring spree?

We also note that PwC make it into the Top Hiring firms of 2017 with seven partner hires. This is the second time they have appeared in our top table – they had six partners join in 2015. There has been a lot of recent commentary on the Big 4 and they are definitely making strides in legal. In this report we note corporate partner, Richard Lewis’ move from Eversheds to KPMG and also tax partner Matthew Herrington swapping McDermott Will & Emery for KPMG. Another top 10 accountancy firm has also entered the market with RSM growing its legal practice with the recent hire of Sophie St John as a private client partner. The jury is still out on the threat posed to traditional law firms by these multi-disciplinary professional services giants but it is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Senior associate to immediate partner moves remain an important part of the market, with 90 such moves in 2017 or 20% of the total. This compares to 79 such hires in 2016 and 80 in 2015. The ease of making a jump to an immediate partner position at another firm very much depends on the practice area. It seems to be good news if you are a finance senior associate, as 18 people at this level managed to secure a partner position elsewhere, a whopping 39% of all finance moves in 2017. Not so great if you are a disputes lawyer in search of a step up to partnership, with only 6 such promotions out of a total of 58 moves, a tad over 10%.

Looking at the breakdown of moves across practice areas, we can see that the traditional gap between corporate and commercial litigation as the biggest two practice areas for lateral recruitment has shrunk. Corporate just edges it into pole position in 2017 with 59 moves, as against 58 litigation hires. In 2015 there were 26 more corporate than litigation moves and in 2016, 14 more. Meanwhile, real estate is at its lowest level for a while, with only 34 moves in 2017, as against 40 moves in 2015 and a massive 62 moves in 2016. In other areas, 2017 has seen a marked increase in insurance moves (37 moves as against 26 last year and 17 in 2015); insolvency and restructuring hires (20 moves as against 14 last year and 10 in 2015); and tax partners (19 moves as against 13 last year and 14 in 2015). Competition moves have been marked by their rarity in 2017 with only seven moves reported in the past 12 months as against 15 in 2015 and 23 in 2016. Perhaps this is one of the few practice areas to really suffer a Brexit slow-down or is this simply down to a dearth of movable talent?

The insurance market has been particularly choppy over the last few months as some firms struggle to make insurance work pay in the City. We have seen the growth of Bristol in particular as a regional hub, with Clydes the latest firm to open there. December brought the news that Mayer Brown were losing a significant team of insurance partners to Kennedys led by David Chadwick. At the same time, Sedgwick’s collapse in the US led to their 6 London partners coming onto the market. DAC Beachcroft and RPC picked up two apiece, with CMS taking one and the head of London Ed Smerdon moving

inhouse to Aon. BLM have also taken a hit with a number of partner losses, including a two-partner team to Clydes.

In this report we have also analysed the number of female partners moving. Of the 446 reported moves in 2017, 101 of these were female or 22.64% of the total. What to make of these figures? The starting point needs to be the number of female partners in the City. According to in September 2017, 25% of all partners in the UK 200 are female. However most of the moves we report are for top 100 firms and US firms (some of whom don’t have a great track record in diversity) so 22.64% doesn’t feel too out of kilter with the likely total number of female partners at these firms.

There are significant differentials when we look at the male/female breakdown across practice areas. Of the 59 reported corporate moves in 2017, only six were female (basically 10%). By contrast, in employment and pensions, 12 of the 23 (52%) were women and in private client it was 8 out of 14 (57%). None of this is too surprising, but it does highlight the difficulty of firms trying to address gender imbalances in areas such as corporate through lateral recruitment and it is clear that law firms need to redouble their efforts to bring their own female talent through their ranks if these figures are ever to improve.

It is impossible to extrapolate the exact level of seniority of the 101 female partners who moved in 2017, but with The Lawyer suggesting that only 18% of equity partners at the top 200 firms are female, it is safe to assume that this figure drops when looking at top 100 and US firms in London. Certainly, finding female moves deemed significant enough for the legal press to include them in their breaking news segments is not easy. In The Lawyer’s top 10 hires of 2017 (which in actual fact features 15 names as they include a couple of team moves), the only female partner mentioned is Katja Butler, a junior partner who joined Richard Youle in moving from White & Case to Skadden. This is not to criticise the legal publications which have been important in getting firms to focus more on diversity. But it does demonstrate that, whilst there is rightly a lot of attention on improving the total numbers of female partners, there is also a huge amount of work to be done in encouraging female partners to move up the ranks into positions of leadership and influence.

The highest profile move of the year came right at the end of 2017 with Kirkland enticing private equity partner David Higgins from Freshfields. Whilst his loss will undoubtedly be felt at Freshfields, only time will tell whether Higgins is worth the astronomic remuneration Kirkland have reportedly paid to bring him over.

The can continue to tinker away with their respective lock-steps but they simply can’t compete in cash terms with firms like Kirkland and we will continue to see a trickle of talent to much more profitable US firms over coming months. It is unrealistic for management to prevent some heads being turned so the real challenge for the Magic Circle is to make sure that the trickle doesn’t become a torrent.

Paul, Dan and the Team

020 7332 2680

Deacon Search is an independent legal recruitment boutique focusing exclusively on partner moves in London. If you are a law firm interested in discussing a potential assignment or an individual partner or team considering a move, please contact us.

Partner Consultants:

Paul Dan

Scott Norah Sarah

Partner Research & Market Intelligence

Danielle Gemma Agi Joanne

The individuals listed in the tables below are movers reported between 20th September 2017 and 8th January 2018. They are all partners who moved to or from a London office, unless otherwise stated.

1. Corporate/Private Equity

Name From To Discipline

White & Case Peter Lewis CMS Private Equity (Counsel)

Crowell & Moring Amy Comer Morgan Lewis Corporate (London & New York)

Private Equity Christopher Field Kirkland & Ellis Dechert Corporate

Private Equity Andrew Carpenter DWF Corporate

Mel Sims DLA Piper DWF Corporate

Corporate Gibson Dunn & Jeremy Kenley Mayer Brown Real Estate Private Crutcher Equity

Markus Bauman King & Spalding Goodwin Corporate

Charles Russell Jaspal Sekhon Speechlys Corporate (Senior Associate)

Philip Newhouse McGuireWoods Michelmores Corporate

David Higgins Freshfields Kirkland & Ellis Private Equity

Richard Lewis Eversheds KPMG Corporate

Tim Hewens Private Equity

Catherine Moss Winckworth Sherwood Shakespeare Martineau Corporate

James Wood Ashurst Sidley Austin Corporate

Simpson Thacher & Wim De Vlieger Bartlett Sidley Austin Private Equity (Counsel)

Simpson Thacher & Till Lefranc Bartlett Sidley Austin Private Equity (Senior Associate)

The Treasury Peter King Weil Gotshal & Manges Corporate (Legal Director)

Maclay Murray & Spens Adam Lynch Wedlake Bell Corporate (Senior Associate)

Oliver Harker Reed Smith Weightmans Corporate

Dominic Ross Ashurst White & Case Corporate

Linklaters Daniel Turgel White & Case Corporate (Senior Associate)

2. Finance

Name From To Discipline

Asset Finance Clive Smith Osborne Clarke Addleshaw Goddard Rail

Meera Jansen Brecher Blake Morgan Finance

Structured Finance Neil Hamilton Jones Day CMS Securitisation

Linklaters Kitty Lloyd Corporate Trustee (Counsel)

Edward Bibko Baker McKenzie Jefferies Bank Capital Markets

Latham & Watkins Derivatives Simeon Rudin Freshfields (Counsel) Structured Finance

Schulte Roth & Zabel Ron Feldman MJ Hudson Derivatives (Senior Associate)

Freshfields Max Millington Osborne Clarke Finance (Senior Associate)

Allen & Overy Dylan Potter Vedder Price Transportation Finance (Senior Associate)

3. Insolvency/Restructuring

Name From To Discipline

Stephenson Harwood James Watson Kirkland & Ellis Restructuring (Senior Associate)

Travers Smith Restructuring Douglas Hawthorn Michelmores (Senior Counsel) Insolvency

David Manson White & Case Paul Hastings Restructuring

Michael Mulligan Grosvenor Law Shakespeare Martineau Insolvency Litigation

4. Financial Services/Funds

Name From To Discipline

Berwin Leighton Financial Services Daniel Csefalvay Ex Linklaters Paisner Regulatory

Financial Services Mark Compton Mayer Brown BNY Mellon Regulatory

Jamie Symington FCA Brown Rudnick Contentious Regulatory

Financial Services Nigel Brahams Fox Williams Collyer Bristow Regulatory

Jake McQuitty TLT Contentious Regulatory

Stephenson Harwood John Wilkinson Farrer Contentious Regulatory (Senior Associate)

Michelle Moran Ropes & Gray K&L Gates Investment Funds

Jacob Ghanty K&L Gates Kemp Little Financial Regulatory

Ropes & Gray James Board Kirkland & Ellis Investment Funds (Senior Associate)

Tom Alabaster Latham & Watkins Linklaters Investment Funds

Guy Wilkes Mayer Brown Mishcon de Reya Contentious Regulatory

Financial Services Marco Boldini ETF Securities PwC Regulatory

Financial Services Martin Sandler PwC Regulatory

5. Real Estate

Name From To Discipline

Karen Friebe Berwin Leighton Paisner Bird & Bird Real Estate

Sloan Kelly Dorsey & Whitney Faegre Baker Daniels Real Estate

Dominic Whelan Brecher Goodman Derrick Real Estate

Charles Russell Simon Davies Goodman Derrick Real Estate Speechlys

Jeremy Rosen SLP Gunnercooke Real Estate

Richard Hughes Boodle Hatfield Moore Blatch Real Estate

Hogan Lovells Anthony Newton Real Estate (Senior Associate)

Anthea Bamford Berwin Leighton Paisner Weil Gotshal & Manges Corporate Real Estate

6. Construction

Name From To Discipline

Stuart Wilson Trowers & Hamlins Clarke Willmott Construction

Construction Matthew Olorenshaw DWF DAC Beachcroft Professional indemnity

Tom Pemberton Beale & Company Goodman Derrick Construction

Mitsubishi Hitachi Angus Rankin Power Systems Europe Construction Litigation Limited

Rob Horne Simmons & Simmons Osborne Clarke Construction Litigation

7. Project Finance/Projects/Energy/Commodities

Name From To Discipline

Energy Arun Velusami Hogan Lovells Project Finance

Eversheds Jonathan Cohen Howard Kennedy Energy (Senior Associate)

Jeremy Farr Ince & Co K&L Gates Energy Litigation

Charles Lockwood Ince & Co K&L Gates Energy Litigation

Clare Kempkens Ince & Co K&L Gates Energy Litigation

Rubin Weston Baker Botts Stephenson Harwood Project Finance

8. Commercial Litigation/International Arbitration/Corporate Crime

Name From To Discipline

Allen & Overy Michelle de Kluyver Addleshaw Goddard Corporate Crime (Counsel)

McDermott Will & International Damian Watkin Bracewell Emery Arbitration

John Gilbert K&L Gates Bracewell Energy Litigation

James Norris-Jones Freehills Cleary Gottlieb Finance Litigation

Winston & Strawn International Alejandro Garcia Clyde & Co (Senior Associate) Arbitration

Charles Kuhn Hickman & Rose Clyde & Co Corporate Crime

Gibson Dunn & Sacha Harber-Kelly SFO White Collar Crime Crutcher

Richard Cannon Mishcon de Reya Gunnercooke Corporate Crime

International Ben Giaretta Ashurst Mishcon de Reya Arbitration

Simons Muirhead Pamela Reddy Norton Rose Fulbright White Collar Crime Burton

Artem Doudko White & Case Osborne Clarke International (Counsel) Arbitration

Jean-François Le Gal Brown Rudnick Pinsent Masons Commercial Litigation

Shepherd & Philip Sewell Maclay Murray & Spens Commercial Litigation Wedderburn

Watson Farley & Tom Ross Ropes & Gray Finance Litigation Williams

Andrew Cromby Bracher Rawlins Weightmans Commercial Litigation

9. Insurance/Reinsurance/Healthcare

Name From To Discipline

Matthew Trinder BLM Clinical Negligence

Clyde & Co John Eastlake Kennedys Professional Indemnity (Bristol)

Jeanette Newman BLM Clyde & Co Insurance

Jonathan Edwards BLM Clyde & Co Insurance

Tristan Hall Sedgwick CMS Insurance

Mark Kendall Sedgwick DAC Beachcroft Insurance

Duncan Strachan Sedgwick DAC Beachcroft Insurance

Insurance David Chadwick Mayer Brown Kennedys Political Risk

Mayer Brown Tim McCaw Kennedys Professional Indemnity (Senior Associate)

Ingrid Hobbs Mayer Brown Kennedys Insurance

Insurance Andy Westlake Mayer Brown Kennedys Political Risk

Marise Gellert Plexus Law Keoghs Insurance

Insurance Naomi Vary Sedgwick RPC Political Risk

Karen Morrish Sedgwick RPC Professional Indemnity

Narrinder Taggar Blake Morgan Shakespeare Martineau Insurance

10. Employment/Pensions

Name From To Discipline

Clifford Chance David Sims DAC Beachcroft Employment (Senior Associate)

Kelly Whiter PwC Fladgate Immigration

David Israel Wedlake Bell Royds Withy King Employment

Clifford Chance Liz Pierson Squire Patton Boggs Incentives (Director)

Michael Salters DWF Wedlake Bell Pensions

Tracy Evlogidis Morgan Lewis Withers Immigration

11. IP/TMT/Data Protection/Commercial

Name From To Discipline

Mayer Brown Charles Russell Megan Paul Technology (Senior Associate) Speechlys

Tim Ryan Memery Crystal DAC Beachcroft Technology

Dominic Cooke ex Bird & Bird Deloitte Technology

Simon Rendell Osborne Clarke Technology

Tim Sewart DAC Beachcroft Memery Crystal Technology

Memery Crystal Robin Fry DAC Beachcroft Technology (Director)

Charles Russell Ian Lynam Northridge Sports Speechlys

Charles Russell James Eighteen Northridge Sports Speechlys

Charles Russell Jon Walters Northridge Sports Speechlys

Charles Russell Jonathan Ellis Northridge Sports Speechlys

Kevin Cordina CMS Simmons & Simmons Patent Prosecutions

Technology Paul Gardner Osborne Clarke Wiggin Gaming

12. Competition

Name From To Discipline

Shepherd and Arnold & Porter Kaye John Schmidt Competition Wedderburn Scholer

Competition Appeal Michael Cutting Linklaters Competition Tribunal

Competition and Markets Authority Martin Coleman Norton Rose Fulbright Competition (Non-executive Director)

13. Private Client/Family/Charity

Name From To Discipline

Mishcon de Reya Claire-Marie Corford Trusts Litigation (Managing Associate)

Charles Russell Private Client Anita Gill Kingsley Napley Speechlys Court of Protection

Barclays Wealth and Sophie St John Investment RSM Private Client Management

Veale Wasbrough Charity Paul Voller Bircham Dyson Bell Vizards

14. Tax

Name From To Discipline

Jane Scobie Ex Kirkland & Ellis Dechert Tax

Gibson Dunn & Sandy Bhogal Mayer Brown Tax Crutcher

McDermott Will & Matthew Herrington KPMG Tax Emery

Mergers/Office Openings

Media, technology and brands law firm Wiggin has acquired boutique intellectual property law firm Redd. The combined team will comprise 20 specialist IP lawyers working across Wiggin’s offices.

BLM has taken a team of 33 commercial lawyers (including 11 partners) from Slater & Gordon in Manchester and London.

Shanghai-headquartered AllBright has sealed a co-operation agreement with Bird & Bird and will establish a representative office in the UK firm’s City premises.