Coker is expected to join Vinson’s energy finance group at the end of May, with his appointment taking the office to seven partners and 23 additional fee earners.
The hire is a relatively rare lateral appointment for Vinson in the City. In recent months it has been bulking up by adding partners from the US, such as structured finance partner William Young, who is set to move from Dallas to London later this year.
Vinson’s last lateral partner hire in
Coker’s departure is the latest in a series of exits from Freshfields’ projects group following a re-jig that saw it lose its status as a free-standing practice.
Andrew Petry left the firm for Addleshaw Goddard in February this year, while Patrick Wallace and Andrew Hart jumped ship to join Simmons & Simmons and Fulbright & Jaworski respectively in 2007. Andrew Bonser left the group for Simmons & Simmons but has since passed away.
The departures leave Freshfields with a far smaller team of dedicated projects lawyers working with its co-head of global infrastructure and transport, Nick Bliss.
