Weekly Legal News 10-14 December
With Brexit looming large this week, London-headquartered firm Pinsent Masons continues to expand its newly opened Dublin office. Meanwhile, Shearman & Sterling became the latest US-headquartered firm to boost its London corporate practice through lateral hires, poaching two private equity specialists from Baker McKenzie
Pinsent Masons brings in three new partners to recently opened Dublin office
London-headquartered law firm Pinsent Masons has hired three new partners into its Dublin office, nearly doubling its partner count there. The new hires are Kevin Collins, who joins from Eversheds Sutherland to develop the property and real estate practice, banking partner Ann Lalor, who was hired from Whitney Moore, and Garrett Monaghan, a former DWF and Arthur Cox lawyer who is highly regarded for his projects and energy expertise. The new hires take the partner count in Dublin to seven and significantly expand the scope of work done from that office.
Pinsents opened its office in the Irish capital in June 2017, hiring three partners from local firms with strong backgrounds in the financial and technology sectors. The firm cited Brexit as one of the considerations affecting its decision to open in Ireland; as the UK's exit from the EU looms ever larger, the Emerald Isle seemingly gains in strategic importance for Pinsents.
Shearman is latest US firm to boost PE practice through lateral hires
New York-headquartered firm Shearman & Sterling has expanded its London office by hiring private equity specialists Katie Hicks and Tim Sheddick from Baker McKenzie. Hicks had only joined Bakers as of counsel at the start of the year while Sheddick had an almost 20 year-long career there, making partner in 2006. They both focus on PE infrastructure deals.
Shearman joins Latham & Watkins, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson as one of the many US-headquartered firms to have recently bolstered their London corporate offerings. Fried Frank is already cashing in as Ashar Qureshi, who joined the firm from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in September of this year, recently advised leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecommunications Holdings Limited in relation to a US$180 million investment by the UK Government's CDC Group Plc, the largest-ever equity investment by CDC in Africa.
