Paul Hastings LLP

London Office Chair: Arun Birla
Number of partners: 30
Assistant solicitors: 60
Other fee-earners: 20

THE FIRM The Paul Hastings City office continues to positively contribute to the firm’s financial trajectory. The firm continues to build its reputation in London and strengthen its existing global practices with a series of strategic and prominent London hires, who have already delivered outstanding successes for the firm’s clients.

In the past five years, the London office has more than doubled in both headcount and revenue. The London office plans to build on the blocks of success set down in recent years, continue growth in size, revenue, and per partner profits, and expand its reach in its core business areas with the strategic hire of exceptional partner talent. Paul Hastings’s confidence in its London offering is reflected in the firm’s much-discussed move to the top floors on the elite new 100 Bishopsgate development, where it shares the building with Jeffries, Royal Bank of Canada, and Freshfields.

In recent months, experienced investment funds lawyer Ted Craig joined the firm’s London office from Dentons as a partner in the private investment funds practice. Additionally, white collar specialists Jonathan Pickworth, Joanna Dimmock, and Rebecca Copcutt joined the firm from White & Case, as Alex Leitch joined from Covington to focus on complex litigation.

Previously, energy and infrastructure finance partner Derwin Jenkinson joined the firm’s City office from Ashurst. He will advise on a broad range of financing structures within loan and capital markets, including infrastructure M&A, project finance and structured debt. Peter Hayes and Mei Lian joined the firm’s London office from Shearman and Sterling. Mr. Hayes focuses his practice on bank finance, particularly cross-border acquisition and leveraged finance, including related restructuring work, and Ms. Lian has a broad and extensive practice across a wide spectrum of high-end finance transactions. She represents hedge funds and alternative credit providers in connection with bespoke financing transactions and distressed and restructuring investment opportunities.

Arun Srivastava, who joined from Baker McKenzie to lead the firm’s regulatory, fintech & payments practice, has supported Paul Hastings’s leading funds, finance and corporate practices on series of transactions including the $1 billion acquisition of Intelenet. Anu Balasubramanian joined from DLA Piper to expand the firm’s private equity offering in London, and has already completed a series of transactions for client Abry Partners, who followed her to Paul Hastings.

M&A heavyweight Roger Barron also joined from Linklaters, and privacy and cybersecurity partner Sarah Pearce joined from Cooley, previous to which energy & infrastructure partner Steve Bryan joined from Hogan Lovells. Previous hires also continue to go from strength to strength, including being named the top global CLO counsel by Creditflux magazine.

Critical to the firm’s success has been the strong fabric of its culture. The firm attracts, retains and promotes extraordinary talent; preeminent partners in their fields who are energetic, dynamic, and who share the firm’s commitment to its clients. Paul Hastings strives to excel in specialist areas and have concentrated its growth in London in practice specialisms that are accretive to its overall global strategy; these key practice areas include finance/structured credit, corporate M&A/real estate, restructuring, private/credit funds and private equity. The firm’s dynamic and entrepreneurial work environment encourages its focus on building close client relationships and developing its talent in a diverse and inclusive way so Paul Hastings are seen as trusted advisors.

PRINCIPAL AREAS OF WORK 

Paul Hastings’s lawyers provide the legal solutions and business insights necessary to help the firm’s clients navigate new paths to growth. The firm has advised on numerous complex domestic and cross-border deals and financings, as well as helping clients manage compliance risks and resolve sensitive disputes.

Over the past five years, the London team has more than doubled in size, and it continues to significantly strengthen its global practices to better serve the firm’s clients’ evolving needs.

Practice areas include: Collateralised loan obligations; credit funds, employment; energy and infrastructure M&A; financial services; investigations and white collar; leveraged finance and high yield; litigation and dispute resolution; mergers and acquisitions; privacy and cybersecurity; private equity; private investment funds; real estate finance; real estate funds; restructuring; securitisation; tax.