Allen & Overy (A&O) has promoted 33 lawyers globally to its counsel rank, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer making up 17 to the same position.

A&O's promotions, which are effective as of 1 May, cover five practice groups – banking, corporate, international capital markets (ICM), litigation and tax – and are shared between 15 offices, with five in London.

This year's counsel promotions, which including one practice support lawyer (PSL), mark a rise on recent years, with 25 made up in both 2010 and 2011. Last year, three of the number were PSL counsel.

Managing partner Wim Dejonghe (pictured) said: "Once again the range of countries and practice areas from which these promotions come reflects the diversity of our global network and expertise. This remains a real strength for us."

The announcement comes after A&O recently confirmed that it is promoting 23 new partners this year, including six in London, marking a small increase on 2011 when 21 were made up.

Freshfields meanwhile has made up nearly three times as many new counsel in its latest promotion round as last year, with the firm adding 17 lawyers to the rank.

This compares with six new counsel promoted in spring last year, with the firm promoting a further 13 in the autumn.

Only one of the 17 promotions is in London, with the remainder falling across the magic circle firm's Hong Kong, Vietnam, Paris, Cologne, Madrid, Munich, Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Moscow and Washington DC offices.

Fellow magic circle firm Linklaters announced 24 counsel promotions alongside a round of 23 new partners earlier this week (23 April).

A&O counsel promotions in full

Abu Dhabi
Ian Bevan – Corporate

Amsterdam
Marianne Drijgers – Corporate
Jennifer de Lange – ICM
Quirine Tjeenk Willink – Corporate
Marinus Winters – Corporate

Bangkok
Noparat Kaewsringarm – Banking

Beijing
Norman Li – Banking

Brussels
Celine Masschelein – Litigation

Frankfurt
Stefan Henkelmann – ICM
Detmar Loff – ICM
Martin Scharnke – ICM

Hong Kong
Fiona Cumming – Banking
Nicholas Ho – ICM
David Kuo – Corporate
Ross Stewart – ICM

London
Beth Collett – ICM
Michelle de Kluyver – Litigation
Jocelyn Land – Banking
Helen Pattinson – Banking (PSL counsel)
Angeline Welsh – Litigation

Luxembourg
Anne Lambe – Banking
Anne-Marie Nicolas – Banking
Gerard Neiens – Tax

New York
Craig Cohen – Tax

Paris
Alexandre Poupard – Corporate
Alexandre Rudoni – Litigation

Shanghai
Frank Voon – Corporate

Sydney
Kylie de Oliveira – Corporate

Tokyo
Justen Fleming – Banking
David Gartside – Banking
Scott Neilson – Banking

Warsaw
Dan Cocker – Banking
Bartosz Jagodzinski – Banking

Freshfields counsel promotions in full:

Competition
Margaret Wang (Hong Kong)

Corporate
Gabriel Flandin (Paris)
Thi Lang Nguyen (Vietnam)
Bui Tien Thanh (Vietnam )
David Cotton (Hong Kong )
Zhao (Ethan) Jin (Hong Kong )

Dispute Resolution
Alex Wilbraham (Washington DC )

Employment, Pensions and Benefits
Aurelie Cormier le Goff (Paris)
Timon Grau (Cologne)

Finance
Olivier Bernard (Paris)
Rhea Christophilopoulos (Paris)
Pavel Koutovoi (Moscow)

Intellectual Property / IT
Markus Gampp (Munich)
Danielle Herrmann (Frankfurt)

Real Estate
Margaret Rhodes (London)
Fernando Soto (Madrid)