Mark Richards

Sullivan & Cromwell sent shockwaves across London's legal scene when the news broke on Monday that it is hiring two of the City's best known corporate lawyers—Kon Amisacopoulos from Kirkland & Ellis and Mike Francies, formerly of Weil Gotshal & Manges. Amisacopoulos has acted on some of the biggest restructurings in the U.K. of the past 10 years, while Francies, though recently retired, has for nearly three decades enjoyed a reputation as one of London's most prominent private equity M&A leaders. Given the calibre and profile of the double-hire, it has given way to plenty of speculation, chiefly, whether or not Sullivan & Cromwell is going to replicate Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison's hyper-aggressive London growth strategy. Could the hires be the first step in the elite-but-conservative Sullivan & Cromwell's transformation into a major London competitor? According to sources close to the matter, the firm is going to make more big name hires. It is planning to bring on around five more high profile partners in London, one of the people said, as well as make several internal promotions, with at least three partner promotions expected in the near term. These numbers suggest that the firm isn't quite expecting to replicate Paul Weiss' much-lauded hiring spree, which began in 2023 after it enlisted Neel Sachdev and other debt finance rising stars from rivals including Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters and others. But Sullivan & Cromwell has started from a higher base. It already has more than 50 fee-earners in London, around 17 of whom are partners. Full story from Molly Smith: https://lnkd.in/e5YkiHAe

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🚨 White & Case has added energy and infrastructure partner Serra Tar from Kirkland in London. The hire comes during a year of notable lateral activity at the US firm which lost a string of energy and infra partners to US rivals in the spring, but has strengthened in other areas - most notably in PE with three senior lawyers from Ropes & Gray. https://lnkd.in/e5qkr358

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A team led by partners Lord Peter Goldsmith KC, Catherine Amirfar and Samantha Rowe has represented Hess in its landmark victory against ExxonMobil and CNOOC, in one of the most significant arbitrations in recent years.    This is not only a major legal victory for Hess, but it also cleared the final hurdle to one of the largest and most geopolitically significant M&A transactions in the energy sector in decades, namely Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess – a transformative deal that reshapes the global energy landscape.   The merger and related proceedings have been the subject of intense public scrutiny, extensively covered in the financial press, closely followed by investors and analysts, and giving rise to billions of dollars in hedge fund positions.   See more detail here: https://lnkd.in/eVwExC_A

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🚨 Clifford Chance doubles down on projects. The global firm has launched a front-end construction team in Aus. Counsel Katie Joukadjian returns to lead. Joukadjian rejoins the firm from Pinsent Masons. Before that, she worked on mega-projects at CC’s own Abu Dhabi office. She brings extensive expertise across renewables, mining, real estate and infra. Now she rejoins Clifford Chance. It’s a timely move. Capital is flooding into energy and infra sectors across APAC. And this is another step in Clifford Chance’s Aus growth plan. Nadia Kalic, Global Co-Head of Energy & Resources, said: “We're committed to supporting our clients across all stages of their investment into major projects and Katie's extensive front-end construction experience will complement our existing transactional and disputes practices.” If you liked this post, we know you’ll like our newsletter. Click 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗨𝗽 to join free 👆

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Addleshaw Goddard Advised the UK National Wealth Fund On Debt Financing Of The Sizewell C Nuclear Power Project Team : Rory Connor, Richard Goodfellow, Sara Gilmore, Bruce Chen, William Morrison, Al Mangan, Mark C., Lee Shankland-Gort, Geoffrey McGinley, Andy Bates, Zoe Fatchen, Alex Hirom, Josh Dye, Kayode A., Karen Rowe, Sophie Hiley, Caitlin Biggs, Jordan Cleary, Opeyemi Atawoa, Anna A., Ian Barker, Alice Herbert, Kieran Fano, Charlotte Scrivens, Rebecca Kitson, Catherine McAllister Link to read full News: https://lnkd.in/dat6viiy #addleshawgoddard #nationalwealthfund #sizewellc #nuclearenergy #infrastructure #cleanenergy #netzero #edf #ukenergy #debtfinancing #powersector

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During London International Disputes Week 2025, Ridge and Simmons & Simmons hosted an expert panel to assess the legal risks and responsibilities that will become standard by 2035 - and crucially, what the industry can do to avoid costly legal battles. The built environment is evolving faster than our legal frameworks can keep up. Tomorrow's disputes will require today's professionals to think increasingly about risk allocation, contract drafting and the old-fashioned need for human oversight.     Construction lawyers, project managers, designers and developers who understand these emerging risks today will be better prepared for the decade ahead.     Read the full article to see how our panel tackled key issues, including:  - The impact of extreme weather  - AI-generated design errors  - Expiry of PFI contracts   - Modern Methods of Construction contracts  - Data centre construction boom 👉 https://lnkd.in/e5ce5yF3 Alice Parker | David Pope | Jonathan Spencer | Steven Walker KC | Trevor Cosgrove #LIDW25 #SimmonsAndSimmons #ConstructionLaw #ExpertWitness

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As the UK continues to lead in climate change initiatives and energy transition, project finance remains a crucial element in supporting the development of renewable energy, infrastructure, and carbon capture projects. At Latham, we are dedicated to providing our clients with innovative legal insights and solutions to navigate the complexities of project finance in this dynamic environment. For more, please read Latham’s contribution “Project Finance in the UK (England and Wales)” to Practical Law Global. https://lw.link/9XBNma Authored by JP Sweny, Salvador (JJ) Jose, Tom Glynne-Jones

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Paris Smith LLP announces the official opening of its new office in Bournemouth. Located at Avalon House on Oxford Road, this expansion strengthens their commitment to delivering high-quality legal services across the South Coast and beyond. Led by Dorset-based partners, the Bournemouth office is a strategic move to serve individuals and businesses with even greater impact across areas including corporate & commercial, property, family, employment law, private client services and more. Read more: https://ow.ly/kGSL50WzhhL #legalservices #lawfirm #bournemouthsolcitors #businessexpansion #dorset

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