KWM confirms names of partners staying on with firm following Europe administration
Firm to maintain seven-partner London base alongside Europe and Middle East presence
January 18, 2017 at 12:00 AM
5 minute read
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has confirmed the names of 17 partners who have agreed to stay on with the firm in the wake of the administration of its European, UK and Middle East (EUME) business.
As previously reported by Legal Week, seven partners will stay on to maintain a London presence for the firm, covering corporate, finance and disputes, as well as a three-partner Frankfurt team (see full list below).
In addition, KWM will also retain a four-partner base in Dubai, led by Tim Taylor QC, alongside corporate partner Sandeep Dhama, disputes partner Ghassan El Daye and international arbitration partner Joanne Strain.
Taylor ran for the position of EUME senior partner in last year's elections but was beaten by corporate partner Michael Cziesla. Cziesla has since left to join McDermott Will & Emery.
The firm will also keep a two-partner operation in Saudi Arabia, where it has operated via an exclusive association with the Law Office of Majed Almarshad since 2014. The two partners staffing the base are corporate partners Majed Almarshad, who launched the Riyadh operation after relocating from Dubai in 2014, and Glenn Lovell, who joined from Al Tamimi & Company in July last year.
New York-based funds partner George Pinkham, the founder of legacy SJ Berwin's Paris office and former SJB Hong Kong head, will also remain with the firm. He moved out to New York in 2014, amid a push by KWM to investigate opportunities in the US.
KWM's Madrid and Milan offices – both of which operate as legally separate entities to the EUME business – are also expected to stay with the firm. The Madrid office consists of 11 partners, while Milan comprises five partners and five counsel. The firm's Brussels office, which has just one partner, Ramon Garcia-Gallardo, is also expected to join the new EUME platform as an affiliated office, while it is understood that one Paris partner is in discussions to remain with the firm.
In total, the new operation will have more than 30 partners, alongside associates and support staff.
KWM global chairman Wang Junfeng (pictured above) said: "I am proud and excited by the determination of our partners who have worked so hard with us to realise this practice in deeply challenging circumstances. This is a very good outcome for international clients and for the continued development of our firm."
KWM's European arm filed for administration yesterday (17 January), officially calling time on the legacy SJ Berwin business, once one of the UK's top 15 law firms.
Legal Week reported that the firm would retain a presence in all of its existing Europe's offices, with the exception of Luxembourg and Munich. A source close to the matter said that once KWM Europe has filed for administration, a recently established English LLP will change its name to King & Wood Mallesons LLP and take over the business from administration. KWM Deutschland LLP was established in December.
The deal is between the partners and the China arm of KWM, and has not involved the Australian arm of the business.
EUME managing partner Tim Bednall sent an all-staff email yesterday (17 January), setting out the details of the move into administration and apologising to staff.
The firm's administrator, Quantuma, has confirmed that there will be redundancies as a result of the process.
Quantuma artners Andrew Hosking said: "We are examining the position closely and exploring ways forward with a view to achieving the best possible return for creditors. Regrettably, there will be redundancies but at this stage it is still too early to specify how many. A small number of employees will be retained for a period to help with the administration."
It also emerged yesterday that London construction partner Julia Court has joined Addleshaw Goddard. She will be reunited with four KWM partners hired by the firm last year. Elsewhere, Mishcon de Reya has hired another KWM partner with the addition of London disputes partner Nicola Bridge, following the firm's hire of litigation partner Shaistah Akhtar, who joined Mishcon last week.
Full list of partners confirmed as staying with KWM
London Joseph Newitt – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Greg Stonefield – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Mike Wang – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Vanessa Docherty – derivatives and structured products, banking and finance, debt capital markets Dorothy Murray – dispute resolution and litigation Darren Roiser – dispute resolution and litigation Andrei Yakovlev – dispute resolution and litigation
Frankfurt Christian Cornett – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Rudolf Haas – banking and finance, corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Ruediger Knopf – tax, projects, energy and resources
Dubai Sandeep Dhama – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Ghassan El Daye – dispute resolution and litigation Joanne Strain – international arbitration Tim Taylor QC – international arbitration
Riyadh Majed Almarshad – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial Glenn Lovell – corporate, private equity, M&A and commercial
New York George Pinkham – corporate, private funds
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllFreshfields' Former Senior Partner Braham Knighted in New Year’s Honours
3 minute readNew Year, New Ventures: 2025 Kicks Off with Mergers, Alliances, and Hidden Ambitions
5 minute readDentons Germany Elects First Gender-Balanced Leaders & Promotions at Noerr, Gleiss Lutz
2 minute readA&O Shearman, Hogan Lovells & 10 Top Stories That Shaped Africa in 2024
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Deal Watch: Latham, Paul Weiss, Debevoise Land on Year-End Big Deals. Plus, Mixed Messages for 2025 M&A
- 2Bathroom Recording Leads to Lawyer's Disbarment: Disciplinary Roundup
- 3Conn. Supreme Court: Workers' Comp Insurance Cancellations Must Be Unambiguous
- 4To Avoid Conflict, NYAG Hands Probe Into Inmate's Beating Death to Syracuse-Area DA
- 5Scripture-Quoting Employee Sues Company for Supporting LGBTQ Pride
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250