Eisenberg puts integration as top priority as BLP hires former Linklaters corporate head

Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) managing partner Neville Eisenberg (pictured) is set to take up his fifth term at the helm of the top 20 City law firm, with integrating the 25 lateral partner hires the firm has made during the current financial year top of his list of priorities.

The haul includes the high-profile recruitment of former Linklaters corporate chief David Barnes earlier this week (27 February), whose hire was announced only days after BLP partners elected Eisenberg to take up his next three-year term on 1 May.

Barnes is the latest of a number of ex-magic circle partner hires for BLP in recent years, with some brought in on special deals above the firm's core modified lockstep. It is understood that Barnes – who joins BLP's corporate group after retiring from Linklaters last summer following a 36-year career with the City giant, during which he worked with key clients including Sainsbury's, BT and HSBC – has been recruited within the firm's normal equity ladder.

He marks the 14th lateral partner hire BLP has made in London in 2011-12, with the firm also expanding significantly internationally, launching offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Hong Kong over the same period.

Eisenberg told Legal Week that consolidating the recent investment would be the firm's main priority, with international integration also forming a key plank of his plans. In particular, the firm wants to take a more global approach to client management, with Eisenberg planning to appoint global practice heads as well as client relationship partners and sector heads.

The firm is also targeting further growth in emerging markets, including a Beijing launch, which has been earmarked for the next year to tap into the Chinese real estate sector.

Other growth plans will see the firm look at expanding its Russia arm in banking and finance, capital markets, M&A and real estate, while a Brazil launch will be considered.

Eisenberg said: "My goals for the next term centre mainly around ensuring that we continue to have the forward momentum for developing our business that we have experienced over the last couple of years. Over the shorter term, we need to consolidate our position as an international player."