Freshfields US M&A Head Leaves, Setting Back Expansion Efforts
The departure of one of the firm's highest-earning partners marks a blow to its U.S. expansion efforts.
April 15, 2020 at 10:18 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com International
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's U.S. head of M&A and global transactions, Mitchell Presser, has left the firm, in a blow to the Magic Circle firm's growth efforts stateside.
A partner at the Magic Circle firm for five years and a senior partner in the firm's New York office, Presser has led the firm's U.S. M&A offering since 2014. He was one of the firm's highest-earning "superpointer" partners, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Before joining Freshfields, Presser spent 17 years at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before helping to found private equity firm Paine & Partners in 2007. He has experience working on high-value deals including Morgan Stanley's acquisition of U.S. oil pipeline and terminal business TransMontaigne in 2006, and the $15 billion leveraged buyout of Kinder Morgan the same year.
More recently, Presser had a hand in procuring the services of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton rainmaker Ethan Klingsberg—among 2019's most noteworthy lateral hires.
A spokesperson confirmed that Mitchell has left the firm, and said, "We thank him for his contribution and wish him well."
The departure represents a setback for a firm that has placed significant resource behind its U.S. expansion efforts. In addition to the hire of Klingsberg and a team, the firm brought in a former top official, Aimen Mir, of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States as a partner in Washington, D.C. Mir now leads the firm's CFIUS practice.
Read more:
Freshfields Says It Had No Deal With Recruiter Seeking Credit for Klingsberg Move
Freshfields Recruits Top CFIUS Official as Washington Partner
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