Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has made up 19 lawyers in its first promotions round since the Anglo-Australian merger which created the firm last year, with the majority of the new partners based in the Asia-Pacific region.
 
The promotions, which come after legacy Herbert Smith made up 10 partners last year, include four London lawyers – Samantha Brown (pensions), Mike Flockhart (corporate), Barnaby Hinnigan (corporate) and Hywel Jenkins, who specialises in dispute resolution.
 
Seven of the new partners are based in Australia, including Paul Branston (corporate/M&A), Rowen Cross (finance) and Daniel Zador (projects) in Perth, with three in Sydney – disputes duo Leon Chung and Hugh Paynter and corporate lawyer Mark Currell – and Matthew Bull (competition) in Brisbane.
 
The remaining new partners include three Asia promotions in Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore, four European promotions in Paris, Madrid and Moscow, and one in the US – litigator Ben Rubinstein in New York, where the firm opened for business last September.
 
HSF senior partner Jonathan Scott ( pictured) said: "This first round of promotions since our merger brings to the partnership a hugely talented group of lawyers who have all shown the necessary international mind-set and business development aptitude to take full advantage of the global platform on which we are now operating." 
 
Herbert Smith and Australia's Freehills completed their merged on 1 October last year, creating a new firm with 2,800 lawyers, including 460 partners across 20 offices. Legacy Freehills also made up 10 lawyers last year.
 
Herbert Smith Freehills promotions in full:
 
Paul Branston – Corporate / M&A, Perth
Matthew Bull – Competition, Brisbane
Simon Chapman – International Arbitration, Hong Kong
Leon Chung – Dispute Resolution, Sydney
Rowen Cross – Finance, Perth
Mark Currell – Corporate, Sydney 
Hugh Paynter – Tax and General Commercial Dispute Resolution, Sydney
Siddhartha Sivaramakrishnan – ECM and US Securities, Singapore
Monica Sun – Corporate / Energy, Beijing  
Daniel Zador – Projects, Pert
Samantha Brown – Pensions, London 
Olga Davydava – Project Finance, Moscow
Mike Flockhart – Corporate, London 
Barnaby Hinnigan – Non-contentious insurance and financial institutions, London
Hywel Jenkins – Dispute Resolution / Financial Services Regulatory, London
Jonathan Mattout – Investigations and Corporate Crime, Paris
Ben Rubinstein – Commercial Litigation, New York
Edouard Thomas – Corporate, Paris
Eduardo Soler-Tappa – Dispute Resolution, Madrid