Denton Wilde Sapte has bolstered its corporate practice with the addition of Reed Smith partner Richard Hierons.
Hierons joins the top 20 UK law firm on 1 July after practising with Reed Smith for three years.
Prior to joining Reed Smith, Hierons was a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for five years, where he launched and headed up the US firm’s UK corporate practice. He has also worked at Nabarro, where he was a partner for six years, and Clifford Chance.
His practice centres on corporate finance and private equity transactions, as well as general mergers and acquisitions work.
Hierons cited Dentons’ presence in the Middle East as a driving factor for his move.
He said: “The Middle East is important and Dentons’ approach to it is a good one. I look forward to working with the team in London and helping to build on what they have already achieved in the Gulf.”
Dentons’ corporate co-chief Jeremy Cohen added: “Hierons has a strong UK practice and good relations with investment bankers and brokers, but he has an ambition to expand his Middle East practice.”
Last month Dentons added to its network of offices in the Middle East after taking on the Kuwait arm of US law firm Bryan Cave. The new office, which will operate as the Law Offices of Dr Ahmad Al-Samdan in association with Denton Wilde Sapte, numbers seven fee earners and will be headed by former Bryan Cave partner David Pfeiffer.
The hire follows a string of recent lateral hires for the City firm, with corporate partner Hugh Naylor joining from rival firm Berwin Leighton Paisner earlier in the year.
The firm’s City real estate practice has also recently been bolstered, with the rehire of Stephen Webb. Webb left Dentons to join Eversheds in 2006 after a nine-year stint, but has now returned.
However, the City firm has recently lost restructuring partner Michael Rutstein to US firm Jones Day. Rutstein will join Jones Day’s London arm as partner after serving 16 years at Dentons. He focuses on acting for banks and creditors and advised on the 2007 restructuring of camera specialists Jessops.
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