BLP hire joins Simmons City practice as fifth in regulatory group

Simmons & Simmons is set to boost its financial services practice with the hire of Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) City partner Jonathan Marsh.

Marsh will become the fifth non-contentious regulatory partner in London, alongside Sarah Bowles, Darren Fox, Jonathan Melrose and Charlotte Stalin.

Marsh has been with BLP since 2006 when he joined from the City office of US law firm Hunton & Williams, where he had been for just 18 months after joining from Hammonds.

Marsh launched the financial services practice at Hammonds in 2003, when he made the switch from an in-house role as head of legal and compliance at Sempra Metals Group.

Simmons' non-contentious financial services team is part of the wider financial services group led by City partner Richard Perry.

Perry commented: "Jonathan's extensive experience in working with financial institutions and his outstanding reputation in the market make him an excellent addition to our team. His arrival will build on our strengths in the regulatory area and will help us enhance our relationships with clients generally and in particular with the banks and commodities market participants."

BLP retains a strong capacity in the sector, including financial services group head Sidney Myers, who joined the firm from Allen & Overy in 2008, and City partner Nathan Willmott, whom BLP named head of its commercial disputes group last month. In total, the firm has seven partners focusing on financial services.

The news comes after the new UK Government announced an overhaul of the country's financial services regulatory system last week, which is set to increase demand for legal advice in the area according to specialist lawyers.

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