The list also includes leaders of the UK’s elite Magic Circle firms and lawyers who head&nbsp;regional practices for&nbsp;large US firms. There are&nbsp;11 new entrants in this year’s list, including some who have stepped into new roles in the past year. Some big US firms that have been building a&nbsp;presence in London are also represented for the first time.

Adams - Chadwick

Charles Adams took over as Clifford Chance’s first global managing partner based outside the UK on 1 May 2022. Milan-based Adams had been the firm’s head of Europe since 2018, before which he led its Italian arm. Since taking up his new post, Adams has revamped the firm’s leadership, creating a new role focused on&nbsp;enhancing client experience and&nbsp;another focused on business transformation. Other major changes for the firm under Adams include signing a lease for a new London headquarters in the City — the firm is set to leave its current Canary Wharf base in 2028. Clifford Chance has continued to expand in the US this year, with recent hires including a pair of antitrust partners from Baker Botts in Washington DC and an insurance partner from Mayer Brown in New York. When he’s not working, Adams is a keen cook and particularly&nbsp;enjoys baking for family and friends. Previous entry: 2022

Global managing partner

Penny Angell has been at Hogan Lovells for nearly 30 years. A specialist in acquisition and leveraged finance, she led its global banking practice before taking up her current role at the firm of UK managing partner in 2021. Outside the firm, she is joint vice-chair of the financial law committee of the City of London Law Society. Earlier this year, Angell helped oversee the launch of a solicitor apprenticeship scheme at Hogan Lovells in collaboration with the&nbsp;organisation. Angell says the scheme is intended to “provide new opportunities for aspiring solicitors and help us to discover the next generation of legal talent”. Hogan Lovells also signed a lease in February for a new London headquarters on Holborn Viaduct, which it will move into in 2026. Outside work, Angell’s hobbies include cooking, skiing and fantasy football. Previous entry: 2022

UK managing partner

A well-known debt capital markets and Islamic finance lawyer, Farmida Bi has a leadership role at Norton Rose Fulbright as chair of Europe, the&nbsp;Middle East and Asia — a position she has held since 2018. With three decades of&nbsp;experience, she has worked on&nbsp;some high-profile deals during her career, including advising Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance on bond issuances. She also served a one-year term as global chair of&nbsp;Norton Rose Fulbright in 2022. Born in Pakistan and raised in the UK, she has previously spoken to Financial News about the racism she experienced growing up and she is passionate about diversity and inclusion. Last year, she led Norton Rose Fulbright’s pledge, alongside other law firms, to&nbsp;recognise UK legal apprenticeships as a pathway into law. She is chair of trustees for the Barbican Centre Trust and for the Patchwork Foundation, which promotes engagement in politics and civil&nbsp;society for disadvantaged young people.&nbsp; Previous entries: 2021-22

Chair, Europe, Middle East and Asia

NEW ENTRY - Leading tax adviser Arun Birla was elected second managing partner of Paul Hastings in October 2022. In his new firmwide leadership role, he is responsible for directing growth, management and strategy, and is tasked with taking the 1,000-lawyer, 21-office business into the top three in several key practices globally — and ultimately into the top 10 of international law firms. Birla joined Paul Hastings from Freshfields in 2008. He co‑founded the London Diversity Network in 2009 and co-created global work-life balance initiative PH Balanced in 2017. He was chair of Paul Hastings’ London office from 2018 to October 2022, during which time he oversaw an increase in revenue of 189% and more than doubled the office’s headcount to more than 40 partners and 150 fee-earners. Birla has also been vice-chair of the company’s global tax practice. A highly respected tax lawyer, Birla continues to act for key clients including Abry Partners, Francisco Partners, PineBridge Benson Elliot and CVC Credit Partners. Since 2021, he has served as one of The Law Society’s social mobility ambassadors, which has given him an industry-wide platform to promote diversity in the profession. He is also the only non-US member of the firm’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council, working to review performance&nbsp;against&nbsp;diversity goals.

Second managing partner

NEW ENTRY - Philip Boeckman is the managing partner of New York law firm Cravath Swaine &amp; Moore’s London office. The US-qualified lawyer joined Cravath’s headquarters in 1991 and was promoted to partner in 1998. He relocated to the firm’s London office in 2000. Boeckman, who is also co-head of the Emea capital markets practice, has a long and successful track record advising clients on initial public offerings, leveraged financings and other equity offerings. Recent deals for him include advising long-time client the European Investment Bank on its $4bn sustainability awareness bond issuance and three registered notes offerings with an aggregate value of $11bn. He also acted as US counsel for HDFC Bank on its $40bn merger with its original founder, HDFC, which was one of India’s largest-ever M&amp;A deals. Other clients of the firm that he has represented include AXA, Bacardi, NH Hotel Group and Unilever. Cravath’s London office made a rare double-hire this year to establish its first English law practice, bringing on board Shearman &amp; Sterling finance partners Philip Stopford and Korey Fevzi. Boeckman sits on the board of trustees of Westminster College and is the senior fellow of the National Churchill Museum, both of which are located in the US. He also serves as vice-chair of the board of directors of the International Churchill Society.

Managing partner, London office, and co-head of the capital markets practice, Emea

Thierry Bosly wears a few hats at White &amp; Case, where he is global co-head of private equity and&nbsp;head of the firm’s Belgium and Luxembourg transactional practices. His major clients include private equity firms such as IK Partners, EQT and Cobepa, as&nbsp;well as banks including Goldman Sachs, Degroof Petercam and Deutsche Bank. Last year, he advised Cobepa on&nbsp;its €1.5bn sale of JF Hillebrand to Deutsche Post DHL Group. He also raised more than €118,000 for the Demoucelle Parkinson Charity by cycling 1,250km from Brussels to Gordes in Provence, France. Nearly 350 White &amp;&nbsp;Case lawyers, staff and clients joined him during his ride, which was broken up into 18 stages. Previous entry: 2022

Global co-head of private equity

NEW ENTRY - Philip Bowden is global co-head of Magic Circle firm Allen &amp; Overy’s banking practice — a role he has held since 2016. Bowden joined the firm in 1999 as an associate, having previously worked at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. He was promoted to partner in 2002. The former head of leveraged finance, he remains a partner in its leveraged finance team in London, where he advises bankers and borrowers on leveraged finance, structured finance, private credit and acquisition financings. Recent deals for Bowden include advising the lead arrangers in a refinancing transaction for telecoms company Altice France that consisted of an extension on its nearly $6bn in term loans and its €1bn credit facility, as well as the raise of a new €150m term loan. He also advised on a €400m high-yield bond issuance by real estate services company Emeria.&nbsp;

Co-head of the global banking practice

The lead for Reed Smith’s business in Europe and&nbsp;the Middle East, structured finance specialist Tamara Box also sits on its governing executive committee. Box is helping to move the firm’s London office to new premises near Spitalfields Market, which is&nbsp;scheduled to take place next year. She has also made recent hires in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The former chair of Reed Smith’s financial industry group, Box advises dealers, arrangers, issuers and trustees in relation to a wide range of debt instruments. Dual‑qualified in England and New York, she also acts for clients in relation to securitisations, derivatives and debt restructurings. Box is a notable advocate for diversity in the legal profession and the wider finance sector. She&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;founder member of the 30% Club, which&nbsp;aims&nbsp;to improve the representation of&nbsp;women on&nbsp;boards across industries. Previous entry: 2022

Managing partner, Europe & Middle East

NEW ENTRY - &nbsp;London-based capital markets lawyer Adrian Cartwright became Clifford Chance’s senior partner on 1 January. He also leads the firm’s European equity capital markets group and has&nbsp;been a partner since 2002. He advised on the £4.5bn London float of digital retailer The Hut Group in 2020 — at the time the&nbsp;biggest listing in the UK in three years, although its share price fell afterwards — and advised the&nbsp;bankers on electric vehicle charging company Pod Point’s 2021 London listing. Cartwright says that as senior partner, one of his key aims is fostering “collegiality” within the firm’s partnership. “Our firm is at its strongest when global senior leaders work together to support the&nbsp;whole partnership to be ambitious and&nbsp;successful in delivering for our clients,” he&nbsp;says. Cartwright’s hobbies include mountain biking, cycling and snowboarding — and, when he&nbsp;is feeling less active,&nbsp;the theatre.

Senior partner

Tax partner Alex Chadwick has led Baker McKenzie’s Emea business since 2021. He was previously managing partner of the London office for five years and before that, he led its UK tax team. Chadwick, who speaks English and French, focuses on&nbsp;international tax planning in his practice, particularly the tax aspects of M&amp;A, corporate finance and restructuring. His&nbsp;clients include multinational companies and financial services firms such as&nbsp;hedge funds. Baker McKenzie boosted revenue by&nbsp;5.5% to $3.3bn in its most recent results, with its Emea unit growing 3.4% year-on-year. Last year,&nbsp;the firm promoted 19 lawyers to partner in&nbsp;Emea. Recent hires in the region include three corporate partners in Johannesburg, a banking partner in London and an international trade partner in Brussels. The London office, which is&nbsp;the firm’s largest globally, is moving this year to&nbsp;new&nbsp;premises at 280 Bishopsgate in Spitalfields. Previous entry: 2022

Emea+ CEO

Comis - Francies

NEW ENTRY - Sabina Comis is an Italian national who grew up in&nbsp;Switzerland, trained and qualified in the UK, and now practises law in Paris. A partner at Dechert for six years, she has deep expertise in French tax and private equity fund formation, and was appointed to the three-person management committee for the Paris office in 2021. Most recently, she was elected to the firm’s global policy committee in 2022 before being named global managing partner-elect for the firm, effective from July this year. Comis leads a team of six Paris-based lawyers advising French and international companies, family offices and private equity firms on fund formation and domestic and international tax structuring. Dual-qualified in French and English law, her clients have included funds such as KKR, Archimed and Sofinnova Partners, while she is a&nbsp;go-to adviser on fund formation and tax issues for the companies of two of France’s top billionaires. She recently worked for Sofinnova on&nbsp;the tax implications of a long-term strategic and financial partnership with Apollo, and advised a major US global investment company on the creation of a European retail investment platform. One of two new global managing partners alongside Washington DC-based Vincent Cohen, Comis is focusing on evolving Dechert’s strategy to drive growth. “In my job description, it was very clear that the priority is building consensus around a strategy that allows us to connect the&nbsp;dots between&nbsp;our various offices,” she says.

Global managing partner elect

Since taking over as Linklaters’ senior partner in 2021, Aedamar Comiskey has made diversity one of her priorities. The Magic Circle firm recently announced its latest partner promotions — 41 made the cut, of whom 41% were female; the firm said it also met its 15% target for under-represented minority ethnic partners. The firm’s first female senior partner, Comiskey was previously global head of corporate. A top M&amp;A lawyer, she joined Linklaters in 1995 and became a partner in 2001. She has led some high-profile deals during her career, including advising HSBC on the $5.2bn sale of its Brazilian business to Banco Bradesco in 2016 — the largest financial services deal in South America at that time. She also advised G4S on its acquisition of Allied Universal in 2021. Away from Linklaters, Comiskey is a director at pregnancy and baby loss charity Tommy’s and is also a non-executive director at engineering services company James Fisher &amp; Sons. Previous entries: 2021-22

Marco Compagnoni works with some of the world’s largest private equity firms and has a reputation for getting complex deals over the line. As global co-head of Weil Gotshal &amp; Manges’ private equity practice, his expertise is sought by the likes of Advent International, Bain Capital, Providence Equity Partners and Sun European Partners. Compagnoni advised Advent and its portfolio company IRCA on the acquisition of Kerry Group’s sweet ingredients division this year. Last year, he worked on Sun European Partners’ take-private of London-listed K3 in a deal valuing the company at more than £270m; he also advised Omers on the purchase of a majority stake in Bionic. Compagnoni joined Weil in 2006 from Lovells, where he was a partner. He led the development of Weil’s private equity practice in Europe, expanding and diversifying its client base in the region. He is also a member of the global management committee at the law firm. A lover of contemporary art, he is chair of the board of trustees at the Contemporary Art Society. Previous entry: 2022

Transactional lawyer Lorenzo Corte advises clients on major public and private M&amp;A deals. The London-based partner was appointed as a global head of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher &amp; Flom’s transactions practice in 2022. He now leads more than 430 lawyers and has a focus on its international work across Europe and Asia. Corte also heads the firm’s Italian desk, with clients including Assicurazioni Generali and Luxottica Group. Dual-qualified in New York and England and Wales, Corte acts for financial sponsor clients such as Black Diamond and Silver Lake Partners. Career highlights include working on Intel’s $15.3bn acquisition of Mobileye and advising Arcelor on Mittal Steel’s unsolicited bid and the two companies’ subsequent $33.8bn merger. Corte is an adjunct professor in cross-border M&amp;A at Fordham School of Law in New York, where he teaches a one-credit course every year. In March, he helped launch Fordham Law’s Scott Simpson Cross-Border Institute, which is named after Skadden’s former global transactions head, who died last year. Previous entry: 2022

Global co-head of transactions

A highly regarded corporate lawyer, Karen Davies continues to work on high-profile deals alongside her responsibilities as global chair at City law firm Ashurst. One of the most memorable transactions on which she has worked was eBay’s acquisition of Skype in 2005 for $2.6bn. More recently, she advised software company Aveva on its £9.5bn acquisition by Schneider Electric, which completed in January. In the past year, she has also worked with Amalfi Bidco on its recommended acquisition of CareTech, and Babcock International on two deals: the sale of its UK civil training business to Inspirit Capital and of its aerial emergency services operations in certain countries to Ancala Partners. Previously head of the UK corporate practice and a board member at Ashurst since 2017, Davies was promoted to global chair in 2021. One of the initiatives she has implemented in that role is its FamilyCare policy, which includes paid leave for anyone who suffers pregnancy loss and people undergoing fertility treatments; the firm has also removed gendered language from its parental leave policies. A mentor to junior lawyers, Davies says one of her proudest career moments was the first time someone she had supported from associate level became a partner. She is an avid Formula 1 fan and she is co‑client relationship partner for McLaren Group. Previous entries: 2021-22

Corporate partner and global chair

NEW ENTRY - Gavin Davies says the 18 months to the end of 2022 were the busiest he has experienced in his 30-year career. Davies is global M&amp;A head at Herbert Smith Freehills and a member of the firm’s governing board. Major deals on which he worked last year included advising an affiliate of Elliott Management on its $16bn takeover of media company Nielsen in a consortium with Brookfield Asset Management. He also acted for satellite company One Web on its merger with Eutelsat in a $3.4bn deal. Other clients of his include education company Pearson and real estate company British Land. The M&amp;A lawyer has long had an interest in helping developing countries grow their capacity to receive inward investment. He has advised the government of Sierra Leone pro bono since 2010, and has also worked with organisations such as the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network, the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Since 2011, he has worked with the International Lawyers Project, a charity that provides the skills of senior lawyers to human rights, economic development and rule of law projects worldwide. He has also been a member of the UK government’s investment Trade Advisory Group since 2020. Outside work, Davies is a keen cyclist and reader, and often spends time supporting his children’s sporting endeavours.

Head of global M&A

Under Georgia Dawson’s leadership, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has continued to hire over the past year, including strengthening its London bench and expanding in the US. Last year, the firm hired M&amp;A partner Jenny Hochenberg from Cravath Swaine &amp; Moore in New York, following on from its landmark hire of fellow Cravath M&amp;A partner Damien Zoubek, who joined the firm in 2021. In the UK, recent hires have included private equity partner Rebecca Ward, who joined from boutique firm Dickson Minto, and leveraged finance partner Carol Van der Vorst who joined from Ropes &amp; Gray. Dawson made history in 2020 when she became the first woman to lead a Magic Circle law firm, following her election as Freshfields’ senior partner. Since her elevation, the firm has made diversity a focus — one of Dawson’s first acts as senior partner was to introduce in 2021 targets for gender, race, ethnicity and LGBTQ+ representation. The firm promoted 30 lawyers to its global partnership in April this year, of whom more than half were women. In addition, 18% of the new UK and US partners are from under-represented racial or ethnic groups. Litigation specialist Dawson was previously head of the firm’s Asia business. She began her career at Freehills in Sydney and joined Freshfields in 2004. In her spare time, she is a keen runner and baker. Previous entries: 2021-22

Richard East and his team at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &amp; Sullivan were drafted into a high-profile case earlier this year when they were retained by a group of Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 bond holders to represent them in litigation against the Swiss government. UBS bought Credit Suisse in a $3.25bn emergency deal brokered by the Swiss government in March, when the latter bank faced imminent collapse. However, the country’s financial regulator Finma wiped out the value of $17bn of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds, which it said was contractually provided for in a ‘Viability Event’ particularly if extraordinary government support was granted. Bondholders with about $5bn of cancelled debt wanted the decision to write down their bonds revoked or amended, and have appealed the decision. East says he is now looking forward to “seeking compensation for our clients”. He is also representing the administrators of collapsed healthcare firm NMC Health, Alvarez &amp; Marsal, in their £2bn lawsuit against Big Four accountancy firm EY, which audited the business before its collapse in 2020 after allegations of fraud. A litigation and arbitration lawyer for more than two decades, East was a partner at Kirkland &amp; Ellis before going on to found the London office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &amp; Sullivan in 2008. He was co-head of Quinn’s London office for 11 years before taking on his current role. Last year, the US firm posted revenue of £133.6m in London — up 5% on the previous year, while profit rose 10% to nearly £95m. Previous entry: 2022

Senior partner, London office

Deborah Finkler forged a reputation as a leading banking, commercial litigation and regulatory lawyer before becoming managing partner at Slaughter and May last year. One of her focuses in her new role is diversity and, like its peers, the firm has set gender and ethnicity targets for its partner promotions. In March this year, it announced its largest round of partner promotions since 2016, elevating 10 people, including its first partner of Black heritage. Women made up 40% of the new partners and 30% were from minority-ethnic backgrounds. Finkler joined Slaughter and May in 1986 and was&nbsp;made partner in 1991. During her career at&nbsp;the&nbsp;firm, she has worked with some of the biggest names in financial services and beyond. In 2019, she and her team published Slaughter and May’s independent review of TSB’s botched IT migration in 2018, which left the bank’s customers unable to access their accounts and resulted in a nearly £49m fine from the Financial Conduct Authority.&nbsp; She also advised Deutsche Bank in relation to regulatory investigations into the manipulation of Libor and other benchmarks, as well as worked with advertising and PR group WPP on&nbsp;issues arising from&nbsp;the departure in 2018 of its founder,&nbsp;Sir Martin Sorrell. Previous entry: 2022

Managing partner

Respected M&amp;A lawyer Michael Francies has led US law firm Weil Gotshal &amp; Mange’s London office since 2000. Under his leadership, revenue for Weil’s UK limited liability partnership jumped 30% to £222m in the firm’s 2021 results, while profit before tax climbed more than 50% to £118m. The London office has also made a series of eye-catching hires recently, including rising M&amp;A star Sarah Flaherty from Linklaters, high-yield finance partners Gilles Teerlinck from White &amp; Case and Andy Hagan from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and infrastructure partner Brendan Moylan from Latham &amp; Watkins. Francies also leads a team focused on internal ESG strategy, covering areas such as diversity and inclusion, wellness, climate change and pro bono. Last year, Weil collaborated with Oxford University’s Saïd Business School to create a programme for its London lawyers covering issues such as ESG investing, financing, and reporting and metrics. Previous entries: 2021-22

London managing partner

Glover - Levy

Despite a slowing environment for private equity firm fundraising in 2022, Simpson Thacher &amp; Bartlett’s London office managing partner Jason Glover worked on several successful fundraises in 2022 — and he has more in the&nbsp;pipeline. One of the top fund formation lawyers in Europe, his recent work has included advising Coller Capital on its first credit secondaries fund, Coller Credit Opportunities I, which raised $1.4bn. Glover and his team worked on the&nbsp;formation of Cinven’s €1.5bn Strategic Financials fund. In January last year, they advised Astorg on its €1.3bn Astorg IQ-EQ Continuation fund and the acquisition of investor services group&nbsp;IQ-EQ, which was previously owned by the private equity firm’s fifth fund. As London office managing partner at Simpson Thacher &amp; Bartlett, Glover has oversight of more than 200 lawyers, while he&nbsp;leads more than 100 fee earners as head of the&nbsp;funds practice in Europe. He is also a member of&nbsp;the executive committee. In July, following a call to action by female partners at Simpson Thacher and other firms, Glover joined a group of more than 45 male partners at the firm who pledged to offer their individual legal services&nbsp;pro bono to organisations that defend and&nbsp;support women’s right to autonomy, equality and safe access to reproductive care. Previous entries: 2021-22&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Managing partner, London office and head of the funds practice, Europe

NEW ENTRY - Dominic Griffiths was appointed to lead the London office of US law firm Mayer Brown last year, having co-led the firm’s global banking practice since 2014. He leads more than 250 lawyers and more than 500 staff. The firm has added 11 lateral partners in London in the previous two years and in 2022 promoted four lawyers to partner.&nbsp; Griffiths last year acted for institutional investor Waterwheel Capital Management on its investment in a €3.2bn portfolio of non-performing loans originated by a Greek bank. His clients include banks such as HSBC, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, as well as alternatives firms such as Intermediate Capital Group, TPG Capital and Värde Partners. Griffiths is Mayer Brown’s graduate recruitment partner in London and has a long-standing commitment to increasing diversity in the legal profession. He is a director and member of the advisory board of social mobility charity One Million Mentors and a trustee of children’s theatre charity, Unicorn Theatre. Griffiths was last year appointed as a court assistant to livery company The Worshipful Company of Solicitors; this year, he was named as the company’s representative in The Financial Services Group of Livery Companies.

Natasha Harrison’s Pallas Partners has just celebrated its first birthday. The firm has undergone rapid growth during its first 12 months. It launched in London in February 2022,&nbsp;before moving on to set up a New York office a few months later. Harrison now oversees 46 staff across the two sites, including 25 lawyers. The firm has several financial services clients and is involved in some long-running cases, including representing creditors that have issues claims in the English High Court against Credit Suisse, the Republic of Mozambique and Mozambican state-owned entity ProIndicus SA. Harrison specialises in complex commercial litigation and arbitration disputes. She previously&nbsp;spent a decade at Boies Schiller Flexner, leading its London office from 2013 and becoming a managing partner in 2019. Before that, she spent a decade at Bingham McCutchen, after spending nearly four years as an associate at Weil Gotshal &amp; Manges. Pallas Partners is majority female‑owned and has above‑average representation of LGBTQ+ colleagues. Earlier this&nbsp;year, the firm took advantage of its alternative business structure to promote a non-lawyer to its partnership, with chief administrative officer Linda Penfold getting&nbsp;promoted to that rank. Previous entry: 2022

Founder and managing partner

Jon Hayes was elected as senior partner of DLA Piper’s international arm in May 2022. The corporate lawyer joined DLA in its City office&nbsp;in 2009 from Magic Circle firm Linklaters where he was a partner. DLA Piper posted a 6% revenue increase for 2022, marking its sixth year of consecutive revenue growth. The firm also topped Mergermarket’s global league table for legal advisers by M&amp;A deal volume for the 13th consecutive year in 2022 — it advised on 1,131 deals that were valued at approximately $137.6bn in total. Hayes is the lead sponsor and member of the firm’s diversity and inclusion council. He is also a member of the&nbsp;board of the firm’s non-profit pro bono affiliate&nbsp;New Perimeter. Previous entry: 2022

Global co-chair, senior partner

Jonathan Herbst advises clients on financial services regulation, including bank structuring, clearing, commodity derivatives and regulatory aspects of transactions. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, Herbst advised ABN Amro and Societe Generale in relation to&nbsp;their reauthorisation as third-country branches in the UK; he&nbsp;also advised the London Stock Exchange Group in relation to its post-Brexit market structuring plans. London‑based Herbst was formerly head of EU law at City regulator the Financial Services Authority before going into private practice. He has spent more than two decades at Norton Rose Fulbright. He chairs the Future Regulation Group of the International Regulatory Strategy Group, which is a joint venture between TheCityUK and the City of&nbsp;London Corporation to shape the development of a global regulatory framework for financial services. He is involved with a Law Society sub-committee that focuses on financial services and&nbsp;the FCA’s Lawyers Consultative Group. Previous entry: 2022

Global head of financial services regulation

Private equity lawyer David Higgins advises leading global buyout firms, such as Blackstone, BC Partners and Hellman &amp; Friedman as part of one of the largest sponsor-focused teams in Europe. Recent work includes advising BC Partners on the €1bn extension of its investment in Springer Nature, Antin Infrastructure Partners on the acquisition of outdoor media infrastructure company Wildstone, and Partners Group on its €1bn acquisition of software company Forterro. As co-head of the European corporate practice at Kirkland &amp; Ellis, Higgins leads 135 lawyers in London, Paris, Munich and Brussels. He is also part of the firm’s executive committee. Higgins joined Kirkland &amp; Ellis in 2018. He started his career at Slaughter and May before joining Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he became a partner in 2001. A keen adventure traveller, Higgins recently visited Iraq and Libya. He is also an active member of private equity foundation Impetus, which supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and privately supports academic research into cancer at Exeter University. Previous entries: 2021-22

Co-head of the European corporate practice

Jeremy Hoyland is serving his third stint as managing partner of City law firm Simmons &amp; Simmons and recently had his term extended by two years to April 2025. He has been at the firm for more than three decades and headed its financial markets and financial institution sector before taking on his current job in&nbsp;2011. In its most recent financial results, Simmons posted a 6% revenue increase to £465m while average profit per equity partner exceeded £1m for the first time. Simmons has focused on hiring in continental Europe in the aftermath of Brexit, with recent additions including a leveraged finance partner in Frankfurt and an employment law partner in Milan. Hoyland has also led the firm’s investments in tech, including legal engineering company Wavelength, which it acquired in 2019, and a series of legal tech products offered to clients under the Simmons Solutions brand. He has also opened offices in&nbsp;Bristol, Beijing, Cambridge, Dublin, Munich, Luxembourg, Shenzhen and San Francisco. Hoyland joined the firm in 1991 and has also worked&nbsp;in&nbsp;Simmons &amp; Simmons’ Hong Kong office. Previous entry: 2022

NEW ENTRY - Jonathan Jones was recently appointed to a second three-year term as European managing partner at US-headquartered Squire Patton Boggs. He led the firm’s Leeds&nbsp;office for four years from 2009, before which he was head of private equity. He now leads the firm’s European and Australian offices, overseeing around 700 lawyers. He is also a member of the firm’s global board and its executive leadership group. Under him, the firm’s UK partnership delivered its best-ever year in 2022, with revenue up nearly 17% to £212m and profit before tax up 37% to nearly £75m. He has also driven the launch of the firm’s Dublin office, which opened earlier this month. Social mobility is&nbsp;a big focus for Jones. He helped start a scholarship programme at the firm in collaboration with the Social Mobility Business Partnership. The three-year scheme awards financial assistance to students from under-represented groups and low-income backgrounds who are in their final year of school and who aspire to become lawyers. Jones has also expanded the firm’s apprenticeship programme, which gives school leavers the chance to achieve legal qualifications at the firm.

European managing partner

Financial services regulation expert Rachel Kent was called up in March by the government to lead a review of the UK’s research and investment landscape and come up with steps&nbsp;to help make London a more&nbsp;attractive place for companies to go public. She is no&nbsp;stranger to government reviews, having been vice-chair of&nbsp;the&nbsp;policy and regulation chapter of the Treasury’s&nbsp;2021 Kalifa Review of the fintech industry. One of the UK’s top regulatory lawyers, Kent’s clients include fintechs, banks, insurers, asset&nbsp;managers and clearing houses. She is Hogan’s&nbsp;lead relationship partner for the UK government and is on the board of the&nbsp;International Regulatory Strategy Group. Previous entries: 2021-22

Senior financial services partner

Stephen Levy is a senior corporate partner at&nbsp;Dentons and sits on its global board. He also chairs the board for its UK, Ireland and Middle East region, which posted a 14% revenue increase in the year to 30 April 2022. Levy’s private equity clients include heavyweights such as KKR, Waterland and KPS Capital Partners. Last year, he advised private equity firm&nbsp;Astorg on&nbsp;its acquisition of&nbsp;a majority stake in Avania from Kester Capital. Levy describes himself as a “keen (but slow) cyclist”, and has&nbsp;raised money for cancer hospital The Christie&nbsp;in&nbsp;Manchester, Cancer Research UK and&nbsp;children’s charity A Smile for Orly. Levy joined&nbsp;Dentons from&nbsp;Pinsent Masons in 2016. Previous entry: 2022

Senior corporate partner

Lewis - Russell

Paul Lewis was elected as Linklaters’ managing partner in July 2021. Since taking up his role, Lewis and senior partner Aedmar Comiskey have ushered through a change to the firm’s lockstep pay system aimed at helping the UK Magic Circle firm to compete with its US rivals better. Linklaters has been active in the recruitment market in the past year, with recent additions in&nbsp;London including private equity partner Genna Marten, who joined from Travers Smith, and infrastructure partner John Guccione, who joined from Latham &amp; Watkins. Linklaters was the first major Western law firm to announce it was pulling out of Moscow in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Lewis joined Linklaters in 1997 as a trainee lawyer and made partner at the firm at 30. His legal practice focuses on capital markets, with a&nbsp;specialism in derivatives and structured securities. He was previously co-head of innovation for the firm, advising on fintech-related issues and helping lead Linklaters’ smart contract and distributed ledger&nbsp;technology&nbsp;initiatives. Previous entry: 2022

Stephen Lucas joined Kirkland &amp; Ellis in 2014 and as co-head of European debt finance he advises private equity firms on all aspects of financing. Last year he worked with Apax on the financing for its take-private of EcoOnline, which was listed on Euronext Growth, the exchange’s multilateral trading facility, and he also advised the private equity firm on financing for its purchase of Alcumus Group. Lucas started his career at Clifford Chance in 1992, where he spent nine years and became one of the youngest lawyers to be promoted to partner. At Linklaters he was one of the founders of its leveraged finance practice before moving to Weil Gotshal &amp; Manges and then Kirkland. As well as his private equity work, he is involved in strategic issues for Kirkland’s European offices. He led and negotiated all aspects of the London office move to 40 Leadenhall, which will open in December 2024. He has also overseen the continued growth of the firm across Europe including leading on 26 partner promotions at its offices in the region in&nbsp;in 2022. Outside work, he is an Arsenal supporter and also has an interest in the works of William Shakespeare. Previous entry: 2022

Co-head of European debt finance

Suhrud Mehta is co-managing partner of Milbank’s London office, co-head of the firm’s leveraged finance group and a member of the firm’s five‑person executive committee. Milbank’s European leveraged finance team focuses on advising banks and direct lenders. Recent deals for Mehta include working on the financing of Brookfield Infrastructure’s £4bn acquisition of HomeServe, a London-listed home emergency repairs and improvements business. Since he took over as co-head of the London office in 2016, it has grown to become the firm’s second-largest after New York, with more than 170 lawyers and revenue of $189m in 2021. The firm also moved to a new London base — 100 Liverpool Street — at the end of that year. This year, Milbank added a six-partner team in the UK from legal boutique Dickson Minto to boost its private equity M&amp;A capabilities. Previous entries: 2021-22

Co-managing partner, London

Corporate partner Alvaro Membrillera has been key to the growth of the London office at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton &amp; Garrison since taking over as its head in 2019. He&nbsp;advises private equity firms including KKR, BC Partners and General Atlantic, and oversees more than 30 legal staff in the UK. In the past 12 months, he has worked on KPS Capital Partners portfolio company Speira’s acquisition of the European business of Real Alloy Europe, and advised a consortium of investors on the acquisition of Irish infrastructure company Celtic Roads Group (Waterford) DAC. Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Membrillera worked in Brazil and New York before moving to London. He worked for Simpson Thacher &amp; Bartlett for 15 years in New York and then London, before joining Paul Weiss in 2017. He studied at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain and at NYU School of Law in New York, and is admitted to practice law in both jurisdictions. Previous entry: 2022

Head of the London office

A member of the global executive committee at Chicago-headquartered Sidley Austin, Leonard Ng advises asset managers, hedge funds and private equity funds on EU and UK regulatory issues. Deal highlights of the past year include advising Clearlake Capital on its acquisition of Chelsea Football Club as part of a consortium co‑led by Eldridge’s chair and chief executive Todd Boehly; he also acted for real estate business Colliers on its investment in Basalt Infrastructure Partners and advised Northwood Investors on its sale of City of London office building 20 Gracechurch Street. Sidley has been on a recent expansion tear in London, adding a two-partner infrastructure team from Weil Gotshal &amp; Manges and hiring Shearman &amp; Sterling’s Emea M&amp;A head Philip Cheveley. A talented musician who has been playing guitar and piano since he was a teenager, Ng chairs the firm’s London diversity committee. He is also a past board member of the Managed Funds Association, the global trade association for hedge funds. Previous entry: 2022

Co-head of UK/EU financial services regulatory group

Will Pearce leads New York firm Davis Polk &amp; Wardwell’s European operations from London. He joined the firm in May 2013 as its second English-qualified corporate partner after seven years as a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills. In 2021, he was appointed to head the firm’s London and European offices. Last year, Pearce advised private equity firm Brookfield Business Partners on the $16bn acquisition of data company Nielsen Holdings by a consortium led by Brookfield and Evergreen Coast Capital. He also acted for Gilead Sciences on its $405m acquisition of UK biotechnology company MiroBio. Pearce, who grew up in Birmingham, has practised in London, Hong Kong and Madrid during his time at Herbert Smith Freehills. He served on Davis Polk’s compensation committee two years, before assuming European management responsibilities. Previous entry: 2022

Head of Europe practice

Luke Powell was co-head of Macfarlanes' corporate and M&amp;A team from 2018 until May 2022, which is when he took up the role of managing partner at the City firm. His regular clients include Goldman Sachs, Permira, Legal &amp; General, Chrysalis Investments and Federated Hermes. Last year, Powell was part of a team that advised private debt investment manager Arcmont Asset Management on its sale to Nuveen, the investment manager of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. In its most recent financial results for the year ended April 2022, Macfarlanes posted record average profit per equity partner of £2.5m, with revenue climbing 16% to £303m. Powell joined Macfarlanes in 2004 and made partner in 2007. He trained at Slaughter and May. Previous entry: 2022

Gareth Price has led Allen &amp; Overy as global managing partner since May 2020, steering the firm through Covid and the deal boom that followed. Revenue rose 10% to £1.94bn in the year to 30 April 2022, with average profit per equity partner up 3% to £1.95m. On his watch, the firm has continued to pursue growth in the US. Recent hires have included New York M&amp;A partners David Ingles, who joined from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and Romain Dambre, who came from Kirkland &amp; Ellis. Price has not been afraid to take potentially unpopular decisions — last July, he froze salaries for newly qualified lawyers at £107,500, despite intense competition on pay in the sector, though has just increased this to £125,000, matching its Magic Circle rivals. A&amp;O has also embraced the future, rolling out AI platform Harvey to more than 3,500 lawyers in the firm. Price joined A&amp;O as an associate in 1996 and was made a partner in 2003. He was projects and energy head for eight years from 2012, before he was elected managing partner. Last year, he was appointed to advise a City of London task force working to increase socio-economic diversity at senior levels in UK financial and professional services. Previous entry: 2022

Lee Ranson has led Eversheds Sutherland’s non‑US business since UK firm Eversheds’ tie-up with US firm Sutherland Asbill &amp; Brennan in 2017. Ranson was appointed to a second four-year term in the role from May 2021. A 32-year veteran of the firm, he previously led Eversheds’ real&nbsp;estate group before serving as managing partner from 2009. The international arm he leads posted an 8% revenue bump to more than £678m in results to April 2022; average profit per equity partner rose 26% to more&nbsp;than £1.2m. Ranson had a brief stint as a police officer before becoming a solicitor. He has spent his entire legal career at Eversheds, practising as a&nbsp;commercial litigator. A fan of Nottingham Forest&nbsp;football club, he enjoys reading about history and supports charity SportsAid, which provides financial assistance to young athletes. Previous entry: 2022

Co-chief executive

NEW ENTRY - For almost three decades, Barry Russell has been on the front line of the most significant and high-profile cross-border workouts and financial restructurings of European companies. An American from Connecticut, he came to London on a short-term brief to set up a restructuring practice in 1996. He stayed and has since gone on to pioneer the representation of bondholders, noteholders and other creditor groups in some of the most complex restructurings ever done in Europe. Alongside James Roome, Russell led the combination of Akin Gump with Bingham McCutchen’s London, Hong Kong and Frankfurt offices in 2014 — which was the largest-ever lateral move in the UK market, at the time. Now the senior partner in Akin Gump’s London financial restructuring group and a member of the London senior leadership team, Russell continues to work for insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds and other institutional investors. Renowned for his work on the restructuring of more than $33bn in bonds and other debt issued by the three major Icelandic banks that collapsed in 2008, Russell recently led the team on the $6bn global restructuring of Nordic Aviation Capital, the largest lessor of regional aircraft in the world. That deal was completed in June 2022 and was closely followed by the reorganisation of commodities trader Noble Group, a $1.5bn restructuring that Russell also engineered. Russell was also lead counsel on the 2022 restructuring of ED&amp;F Man Treasury Management, which involved the refinancing of more than $1.5bn of debt. During lockdown, Russell returned after a 35-year hiatus to playing and collecting bass guitars. An avid golfer, he also enjoys walking his two Newfoundland rescue dogs.

Financial restructuring partner

Sabharwal - Wills

Despite a market slowdown following the M&amp;A boom of 2021, Dipen Sabharwal oversaw a record year for White &amp; Case’s London office in&nbsp;2022. One of the firm’s most important offices, its revenue hit $450m last year, which represented around a sixth of&nbsp;White &amp; Case’s total revenue. “We have made tremendous strides in London in our M&amp;A practice and our restructuring practice and we have one of the largest disputes practices in London,” Sabharwal says. Recent major deals handled out&nbsp;of London include advising Vue Cinemas on its recapitalisation and acting for retailer Fenwick on the sale of its flagship store on Bond Street. Sabharwal is qualified to practise in England and Wales, New York and India. The King’s Counsel took silk in 2019, in recognition of his standing as a solicitor advocate — a special role in the UK legal system that gives solicitors the ability to represent clients in higher courts, which are usually reserved for barristers. As well as London office executive partner, Sabharwal is an international arbitration partner, focusing on sectors such as technology, energy and the media; he also heads the firm’s India practice group. He regularly lectures at King’s College London and&nbsp;serves as the India rapporteur for&nbsp;the&nbsp;Institute&nbsp;for&nbsp;Transnational Arbitration. Previous entry: 2022

London office executive partner

NEW ENTRY - Tihir Sarkar joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen &amp; Hamilton’s top management committee in 2021. Since then, he has overseen two of its London office’s best‑ever years by revenue, as well as led on a series of market-defining lateral hires. The son of Indian immigrants, Sarkar was born and grew up in Birmingham. He joined Cleary from Slaughter and May in 2003 — one of the first English lawyers to migrate to a US firm. He opened the firm’s Abu Dhabi office in 2012 and played a key role in developing the firm’s sovereign wealth practice, before stepping up to his current leadership position. As the senior M&amp;A partner in London, Sarkar oversees seven other partners, three counsels and 21 associates doing deals. Now active for clients including American Express, Coca‑Cola, Euronext, GSK and the Qatar Investment Authority, Sarkar maintains a busy practice focused on top-end M&amp;A, private equity and financing work, alongside his management responsibilities. In 2021, he led the team that advised Euronext on its €4.3bn acquisition of Borsa Italiana Group from the London Stock Exchange Group. Last year, he oversaw through his Emea role on the executive committee the firm’s exit from the Russian market; he also hired big-name partners, including Nick Rumsby from Linklaters and Ian Shawyer from Travers Smith. He has grown the number of London partners to 28 in the past year — an increase of almost a third. A father of three, a graduate of the University of Manchester and an Arsenal fan, he enjoys football, tennis and cricket in his spare time.

Partner and member of executive committee

NEW ENTRY - Yen Sum has more than two decades of experience advising private equity firms, hedge funds and credit funds on financial and operational restructurings, special situations and alternative investments. Last year, she was&nbsp;promoted to co-lead a&nbsp;big&nbsp;new practice for Latham &amp;&nbsp;Watkins that brings together lawyers from various practices and offices to support private capital clients across all asset classes. She started her career in Australia, having grown up there. She worked at Linklaters and was a partner at Sidley Austin, before she joined Latham’s London office in 2018. Last year, she worked on the&nbsp;€570m recapitalisation of bedding and mattress company Hilding Anders. Previous high‑profile work includes advising senior creditors in relation to the €300m rescue financing of aviation services business Swissport in 2020, as well as the subsequent €2.9bn debt and&nbsp;equity&nbsp;restructuring of the firm.

Global chair of the private capital practice

Mergers and acquisitions specialist Roland Turnill is due to become Slaughter and May’s next senior partner, replacing Steve Cooke in May&nbsp;2024. Turnill co-heads the Magic Circle firm’s financial institutions group and recently stepped down as head of M&amp;A after six years. He works with several FTSE 100 clients including&nbsp;M&amp;G, Vodafone and Royal Dutch Shell. Recent deals on which he has advised include Authentic Brands Group’s acquisition of Ted Baker in August and Next’s acquisition of clothing brand Joules in December. Highlights from his career include advising Akzo Nobel on its takeover of ICI,&nbsp;as well as acting for Vodafone on the disposal of its interest in Verizon Wireless for $130bn — which is still one of the largest-ever corporate transactions. Turnill joined Slaughter and May in&nbsp;1998 and made partner in 2004. Previous entries: 2021-22

Co-head of financial institutions group

Nigel van Zyl co-heads US firm Proskauer’s private funds practice, leading lawyers across the Americas, Europe and Asia. He focuses on advising institutional investors, asset managers and investment advisers on fundraising, as well as the formation and ongoing maintenance and compliance of&nbsp;their funds, among other matters. Recent deals include acting for Bencis Capital Partners on the formation and closing in March of its Bencis IV Continuation fund, a €123m vehicle for Bencis to provide additional capital to four portfolio companies from its fourth fund. Van Zyl is a key adviser to private equity firm Hg Capital on its funds work. He acted for Hg on its $11bn Saturn 3 fund, which it raised in 2022. Other clients include G Square Capital, Gilde Buy Out Partners, EMK Capital Partners and Tenzing Private Equity. Hailing from South Africa, van&nbsp;Zyl studied at the&nbsp;University of KwaZulu-Natal. He was&nbsp;a partner at SJ Berwin for 12 years, before&nbsp;joining&nbsp;Proskauer’s London office in 2012. Previous entry: 2022

Co-head of the private funds group

As one of Europe’s leading private funds and funds regulatory lawyers, Patricia Volhard has had her work cut out for her in recent years thanks to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, Brexit and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The last of these has been one of her focuses over the past 12 months, and she has been working with clients such as KKR, Lexington, Coller Capital and Allianz Capital Partners to help them navigate the still relatively new rules. Volhard also works with portfolio companies on issues such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which came into force in February for around 50,000 corporates, as well as advising on fundraising and fund structuring. As managing partner of the Frankfurt, Paris and Luxembourg offices, Volhard oversees nearly 40 lawyers. She splits her time between the three cities, but is also in London regularly. She was chair of trade body Invest Europe’s legal and regulatory committee and is on&nbsp;the board of the BVK, Germany’s private equity and venture capital association. She rejoined Debevoise &amp; Plimpton in 2017 from Pöllath &amp;&nbsp;Partners, where she had worked for 12 years. Previous entry: 2022

Head of European funds regulatory practice; managing partner, continental Europe

David Walker has been global vice-chair of the corporate department at Latham &amp; Watkins since 2018, overseeing more than 450 lawyers across the firm’s offices in Europe. # He was previously co-chair of the Latham &amp; Watkins’ private equity practice and has been instrumental in its growth in Europe. Walker continues to work on transactions for buyout firms, including last year advising Equistone Partners Europe on the sale of Acuity Knowledge Partners to Permira. He also represented Energy Capital Partners on its offer for Biffa. He joined Latham as a partner in&nbsp;2013 from Clifford Chance, where he started as&nbsp;a&nbsp;trainee in 1991, becoming a partner in 2000. Previous entry: 2022

Global vice-chair of the corporate department

Sandra Wallace is DLA Piper’s joint managing director for the UK and Europe and a member of&nbsp;the firm’s international executive committee. An employment lawyer by background, she joined DLA Piper in 1994 and was promoted to partner in 2001. Her legal practice focuses on issues such as executive disputes, employee relations and&nbsp;business reorganisations. Outside the firm, Wallace is a reputed social mobility champion. She was appointed interim chair of the government’s Social&nbsp;Mobility&nbsp;Commission in 2020 and was co‑chair of the City of London’s Socio-economic Diversity Taskforce. Wallace’s alma mater, the University of&nbsp;Wolverhampton, appointed her pro‑chancellor for social mobility in 2021. She was&nbsp;awarded a&nbsp;CBE&nbsp;in last year’s New Year Honours for services&nbsp;to law and social mobility. Wallace has also been in The Powerlist — the most influential people of African and African-Caribbean heritage in the UK — every year since 2018. Previous entries: 2021-22

Joint managing director, UK and Europe

Oil and gas lawyer Penelope Warne is the senior partner at CMS UK, chair of its board and head of&nbsp;its energy and climate change practice. CMS posted UK revenue of £644m in its most recent financial results, a growth of more than 13% year-on-year. Globally, the firm boosted revenue 18% to&nbsp;€1.75bn in 2021. Dual-qualified in English and Scots law, Warne trained with Slaughter and May, joining the firm in 1993 to&nbsp;launch its Aberdeen office. She oversaw its merger with Scottish stalwart Dundas &amp; Wilson&nbsp;in 2014, then helped engineer a three-way tie-up with Olswang and Nabarro in 2017 in&nbsp;what was the&nbsp;UK’s largest-ever law firm merger. Warne has been instrumental in an initiative at&nbsp;CMS to give staff up&nbsp;to one month’s extra leave per year to explore their interests or rejuvenate. She is a member of&nbsp;The Law Society’s board and a&nbsp;founding member of the Law Societies’ Compact and Forum.&nbsp; Away from&nbsp;work, she enjoys time with her family, as&nbsp;well&nbsp;as house and garden design. Previous entry: 2022

Claire Wills advises financial services firms such as banks, asset managers and insurers on their key mandates. Until her term finished at the end of April, she was also managing partner of&nbsp;Freshfields’ London office, which is its largest by revenue and headcount with more than 1,000 people. Previously co-head of the firm’s financial institutions group and chair of&nbsp;its partner recommendation committee, she took on the role in 2019 and oversaw the firm’s move in 2020 to its new London headquarters at&nbsp;100 Bishopsgate. Diversity and inclusion is a&nbsp;key focus for Wills. She has been involved in new&nbsp;staff initiatives to offer up to $60,000 in fertility benefits and to support&nbsp;anyone experiencing menopause. Outside of work, Wills is a trustee of&nbsp;the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess&nbsp;of Wales, which focuses on charitable work related to&nbsp;conservation, early childhood, mental health and emergency responders. Previous entry: 2022

Fifty Most Influential Lawyers 2023