Cravath Swaine & Moore is shifting global M&A head Richard Hall from New York to London in a bid to boost the firm’s European corporate practice, according to Legal Week. Hall, who has spent his entire career at Cravath and has been a partner for over 15 years, will relocate from the firm’s Eighth Avenue headquarters to its 27-lawyer London office in February. He will replace fellow corporate partner David Mercado as head of the office, which was launched in 1973 and remains the firm’s sole international base. Mercado, who relocated from New York in 2009, will remain as one of five U.S.-qualified partners based in London.
Evan Chesler, Cravath’s presiding partner who will be replaced in that post in January by current deputy presiding partner Allen Parker and move into the newly created position of firm chairman, said the move reflects Europe’s continued importance to the firm’s global strategy. “Europe is going to continue to be very important to our business in the future,” Chesler said. “Putting Richard in London is a testament to how important it is. The two largest economies are the United States and Europe. Business people find opportunities in these continents and will continue to do so, no matter what the global market is. It is important that we respond to this.”
