Cadwalader City chief Wilkinson quits for Goldman

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft is set to lose its London managing partner after high-profile restructuring partner Andrew Wilkinson quit to join client Goldman Sachs.

Wilkinson is expected to join the bank later this summer as co-head of restructuring alongside Lachlan Edwards.

Wilkinson is widely regarded as the biggest name in Cadwalader's City practice, having advised on major restructurings such as MyTravel, TXU and Telewest, and the departure will be seen as a blow to the New York firm.

The loss comes after months of speculation over his future, with the marathon Eurotunnel restructuring, on which Wilkinson has advised for a number of years, now moving into its final stages.

Cadwalader's London arm has lost a number of senior partners in recent years, including James Roome to Bingham McCutchen, Richard Gregorian to Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw and Lyndon Norley to Kirkland & Ellis. The London office is also set to lose litigation partner James Douglas, who is returning to New Zealand.

The appointment is the second high-profile legal hire in a year for Goldman, which brought in Kirkland restructuring veteran James Sprayregen in New York last summer.

One ex-partner commented: "Andrew ran the group for 10 years and he could have stuck around for the next down-turn and done more of the same but it would have been more of the same. It will be interesting to see what happens [to the practice] if they don't get a big name [to replace Wilkinson]."

Cadwalader said in a statement: "While we are disappointed that Andrew will be leaving the firm, we are pleased that he is moving on to a challenging role in a capacity where he will continue to work closely with Cadwalader.

"During 10 years at Cadwalader, Andrew helped to build a team of lawyers that have become trusted legal advisors to leading financial institutions and corporations. This team remains at the firm and will continue to provide the highest quality legal advice and client service."

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