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A&O Shearman expands leveraged finance team with partner hire from Barclays
Filippo Crosara joins A&O Shearman’s debt finance practice in London
Filippo Crosara Photo courtesy of A&O Shearman
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A&O Shearman has hired leveraged finance lawyer Filippo Crosara from Barclays to expands its debt finance practice.
Crosara joins as a partner in London and will specialise in lender-side leveraged finance work. He has extensive experience in structuring, negotiating and closing large and high-profile deals for financial sponsors and corporates. His appointment comes as the global leveraged loan market activity ramps up, with deals in Europe jumping more than 50% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2023, according to Debtwire data.
Denise Gibson, A&O Shearman’s UK managing partner and debt finance partner, said: “[Crosara] brings with him first-class industry and market knowledge. Fil has over 18 years of experience in the legal and banking sectors, combining a technical background with commercial acumen and industry awareness. We look forward to having him with us in the team.”
Crosara arrives after just under a decade at Barclays, where he was a managing director working in its leveraged finance origination team. Before that he was a senior associate at Clifford Chance in London for close to five years and an associate at Clifford Chance in Milan for four years.
Nick Clark, a partner and global co-head of debt finance at A&O Shearman, said: “Fil has a very strong market reputation, and is respected by sponsors, lenders and the market more broadly. His addition to the team will enable us to consolidate further our market-leading position for European leveraged finance.”
The hire also comes after A&O lost two debt finance lawyers earlier this year to Kirkland & Ellis, including Vanessa Xu and Marwa Elborai. Both exited ahead of A&O’s merger with Shearman & Sterling in May, which created a transatlantic giant with around $3.5bn in combined revenue.
Several other firms have been building out their leveraged finance benches in London this year. In May, McDermott Will & Emery strengthened its leveraged finance team with the arrival of partners Christopher Kandel and John Burge from Morrison & Foerster. That followed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s hire of former Linklaters’ leveraged finance practice co-head David Irvine in April.
And in December last year, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom hired acquisition finance lawyer Sebastian FitzGerald from Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
