Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling announce the first partner promotions for the combined firm, A&O Shearman

A&O elected 32 partners, and Shearman elected eight, consistent with the relative size of the two firms and their geographic footprints. They will join the A&O Shearman partnership upon the merger closing on May 1, 2024.

The promotions span 15 different offices across 11 countries, with 13 promotions in the United States, nine in the United Kingdom, 13 across Continental Europe, one in The Middle East, and four in Asia.

Khalid Garousha, interim managing partner at A&O, expressed his excitement, stating: "We are thrilled to welcome this exceptional group of lawyers to the A&O Shearman partnership. I am also pleased that 42% of those promoted across both firms are women, in line with our goal of increasing diversity. These partners will bring a wealth of expertise to our soon-to-be merged firm, providing exceptional service to our clients in the world’s most dynamic markets.”

Adam Hakki, senior partner at Shearman, congratulated the promoted lawyers, saying: “I would like to congratulate this exceptionally talented group of lawyers on their promotions. They each have an outstanding track record of delivering for our clients and the firm, and they are a fitting group to be the first new partner class of A&O Shearman. The diversity, geographical breadth and range of expertise of these outstanding professionals demonstrates the quality and depth of the combined firm around the world. I am confident they will continue to accomplish great things and will be wonderful partners in every respect.”

Below is the list of elected partners:

Allen & Overy

United States

New York

• Lena Kiely, International Capital Markets
• Puja Patel, Corporate
• Derek Poon, International Capital Markets

Washington D.C.

• Michael Sykes, Banking
• Gideon Wiginton, Banking

United Kingdom

London

• Tim Bates, International Capital Markets
• Imogen Carr, Corporate
• Vanessa Morgan, Management
• Rebecca Noble, Banking
• Rachel O'Reilly, Banking
• Kate Pumfrey, Litigation
• Alex Shandro, Corporate
• Jason Symington, Banking
• David Weaver, Corporate

Continental Europe

Brussels, Belgium

• Axel de Backer, Banking

Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Luke Whibley, Banking

Paris, France

• Laurie-Anne Ancenys, Corporate
• Charles del Valle, Tax
• Anne-Caroline Payelle, Corporate

Düsseldorf, Germany

• Catharina Glugla, Corporate

Munich, Germany

• Rauni Ahammer, Banking

Frankfurt, Germany

• Tim Drach, Tax
• David Schmid, Litigation
• Sebastian Schulz, Litigation

Luxembourg

• Baptiste Aubry, International Capital Markets
• Franz Kerger, Tax

Madrid, Spain

• Ishtar Sancho, Tax

The Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Arash Koozehkanani, Litigation

Asia

Jakarta, Indonesia

• Mohammad Andrew, International Capital Markets

Singapore

• Matthew Del Rosso, Banking
• Jessica Lee, Banking
• Ayesha Thapar, Corporate

Shearman & Sterling

United States

New York

• Melisa Brower, Compensation, Governance and ERISA
• Jonathan Cheng, Antitrust
• Joshua Ebersole, Litigation
• Jai Garg, Compensation, Governance and ERISA
• Christopher Glenn, Mergers & Acquisitions
• Leila Siddiky, Litigation

Washington D.C.

• Brian Hauser, Antitrust

Austin

• Michelle Kwan, Emerging Growth