Damn those Americans and their money. It’s a sentiment that must be held privately by management figures at a number of top British law firms, who have had to watch as a series of their star London partners are systematically poached by U.S. rivals.
As of early November, the U.K. market was still reacting to the announcement of two of the highest-profile lateral hires of recent years. In October, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher significantly bolstered its London corporate practice with the hire of former Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen. Private equity specialist Geffen, who had been removed from his leadership position following a contested election 12 months earlier, moved to Gibson Dunn alongside one of Ashurst’s top-billing corporate partners, Mark Sperotto. Most recently, Ropes & Gray revealed that it is to hire Phil Sanderson, the former private equity head at elite London corporate firm Travers Smith, in January.
