Freshfields lags Links with 22 partner promotions

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is to promote a conservative 22 lawyers to its partnership, with just five of the new partners coming in London.

The promotions, which will take effect from 1 May, include five appointments in Asia and four in Paris, with the firm's largest operations - in London and Germany - seeing five and four promotions respectively.

Freshfields' corporate department dominates the promotions, with nine new partners. Finance gains five new partners, while litigation and property each see three promotions. Employment and real estate made up a partner a piece, although competition and intellectual property/IT missed out completely.

Just two of the promotions - both in London - are women.

The figures will be viewed as moderate, following Freshfields' promotion last year of just 10 partners - its lowest figure in four years - and coming despite the firm's dominant position in the current booming M&A market.

The firm has also just conlucded a wide-ranging restructuring of its partnership, which has seen around 80 partners leave the equity in the last year.

The firm's Paris arm was hit particularly hard by the restructuring and while the new promotions in Germany and London equate to an increase of around 3% in their total partner numbers, the promotions in Paris account for a rise of around 13%.

Only some of the newly-appointed partners will join the equity, with the remainder taking on the newly-created rank of salaried partner.

The firm refused to comment on numbers involved, but it is expected that salaried partners will initially make up around 10% of the partnership.

By May, the firm's City headquarters is expected to have around 15 fixed-share partners, with the firm estimating it will have around 450 partners overall.

Freshfields co-senior partner Guy Morton commented: "The changes that have taken place this year are not directly linked with our decisions on the election of new partners, but both are made with a view to the long-term success of the firm."

He added: "We are very pleased to welcome an outstanding group of new partners and, looking forward, are confident in the high quality of our associates and in the opportunities that are available for potential future partners."

A Linklaters partner added: "I think it's hard to read too much into the Freshfields numbers as, with so many partners discussing their futures with the firm, it is a hard time to be making up new partners. Twenty-two is not nothing, though, and I think they will say last year was just a hiccup."

The numbers follow the news that arch magic circle rival Linklaters is to make up 38 new partners this year. While just 23% of Freshfields' new partners will be based in London, the figure is nearer to 40% at Linklaters.

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