Following a firm-wide vote today (14 March), finance specialist Allen and Goetz are set to join the magic circle firm as partners with immediate effect.
The pair resigned from White & Case’s City office last week amid tensions between the firm’s central management and its City branch, with senior figures in
The pair had been linked to a number of rival firms, with Freshfields emerging during the week as the most likely destination.
Freshfields finance co-head Perry Noble commented: “Maurice and Mike are well regarded in the market as top-quality practitioners and dedicated client lawyers and we are delighted they will be joining our firm. They will further strengthen our lender capabilities as well as fitting in well with our highly regarded restructuring and insolvency group.”
The hires will be viewed as a surprise by some observers, with Freshfields having focused less on its finance practice in recent times. Last year the firm suffered the high-profile departures of partners David Ereira and Brian Gray to arch rival Linklaters.
One magic circle partner commented: “Freshfields have been aware of [Allen’s] talents for a long time. Quite how they will fit I don’t know – they are leaders in their areas and it will be a departure from what Freshfields’ practice is doing right now.”
Meanwhile, Freshfields has promoted banking senior associates Tazim Hall and Alex Mitchell to partner in the firm’s latest round of internal appointments, effective from 1 May.
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