Sullivan & Cromwell has made a high-profile lateral hire for its
London office, bringing in tax partner Michael McGowan from the
London arm of
New York rival Shearman & Sterling.
The appointment of a senior tax partner in London will be viewed as further evidence of Sullivan’s ambitions to substantially expand its transactional practice in Europe.
The top Wall Street firm launched its UK corporate practice in 2006 with the recruitment of Allen & Overy (A&O) partner Vanessa Blackmore and expanded it last year through the hire of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy M&A partner Tim Emmerson.
Sullivan had been looking for a tax partner for some time and the appointment will be seen to add valuable support to cross-border transactions. The firm is known to be considering further expanding its corporate and tax practice in the UK as well as setting up a financial services regulatory team.
The development of Sullivan’s local law practice was further underlined by this year’s appointment of Blackmore to co-lead its London office — the first time the firm has handed over front-line management to a non-US lawyer.
Sullivan chairman Rodgin Cohen said: “Michael represents an important addition to our UK law practice and his hire is the latest in a series of initiatives we have taken to strengthen our European practice.”
A corporate partner at a rival US firm said: “What is interesting is that they spent the best part of 15 years wavering as to which direction to take the London office. When Vanessa Blackmore came on board, it became clear they were serious about the corporate practice. It is inevitable that they will start looking for some antitrust people now.”
McGowan, whose resignation was revealed on Friday (4 April) on legalweek.com, had been with the US firm since 2001. He was previously a partner at A&O.
Commenting on his departure, Shearman’s new London managing partner, Anthony Ward, said: “We wish Michael well in the future. He has made a good contribution over the years. We continue to have a strong UK practice, which is what we need to service our wide client base.”
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