Baker McKenzie has promoted 52 new partners across its international network in its annual summer promotions round, with 23 new partners having been made up in North America in January.

This year’s 75-strong cohort marks a step up on last year, when 67 lawyers got the nod, which in turn was a step down on 2020’s bumper crop of 84 – the largest for the firm since 2016. 

The proportion of women increased very slightly from last year, from 36% to 37% this time round, though that was still lower than the 41% the firm achieved in 2020. 

Bakers said this year’s cohort moved it closer to the 40:40:20 gender diversity targets the firm announced in 2019 for partners, representing 40% women, 40% men and 20% flexible (women, men or non-binary persons), although it acknowledged there was ‘still more work to do'.

The promotions were made across 25 jurisdictions globally and, like last year, were focused on M&A, tax and dispute resolution.

In a repeat of last year, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the summer round, with 27 getting the nod across the region. Bangkok gained the most new partners, with eight promotions including three in the capital markets team and two in the M&A practice. Next up was Sydney, which welcomed four partners, followed by Singapore (three) and Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, all of which saw two move up. Jakarta, Taipei, Hanoi and Melbourne each had one. 

Looking to Europe, the three lawyers to get the nod this time round in London – John Groom (IP tech), James Heller (private equity) and Phyllis Townsend (tax) – marked a step down on last year, when eight were made up in the city. 

The 17 promotions on the Continent were a slight step up on last year’s 15-strong group and were fairly evenly mixed in terms of location. Germany had the most (four), while Italy and Spain had two apiece and one moved up the ranks in Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Warsaw, Stockholm and Zurich. 

Finally, the firm made up three lawyers in Dubai, two of whom – Amir Al Khaja and Sally Kotb – are members of the dispute resolution team. The firm also promoted one lawyer in Cairo and another in Casablanca.

M&A dominated the summer round in terms of practice area, adding eight new partners, followed closely by banking and finance, dispute resolution, IP tech and tax, all of which welcomed seven. Next up was capital markets (six), followed by employment and compensation (four) and private equity (two). The round’s sole promotion in the projects team went to Thanh Hai Nguyen in Hanoi, while Dusseldorf-based Daniel Bork was promoted in the real estate practice and Laura Liu was made up in the antitrust and competition team in Beijing.  

"Progressing to partner is a reflection of many years of hard work and highly successful client engagement, said Bakers global chair Milton Cheng. “With the pandemic creating many challenges over the past two years, this promotion round provides an opportunity to celebrate the diversity and depth of talent we have in the firm and the contribution our new partners make. To see our younger lawyers from such a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures make partner is one of the highlights of being a law firm leader."

Toronto gained the most new partners in January’s North America round, welcoming four, followed by Washington DC, Chicago and Dallas, all of which added three. Two moved up in each of the firm’s offices in New York, Miami, San Francisco and Mexico City, while Palo Alto and Los Angeles added one new partner apiece. 

Most of the North American promotions were in Bakers’ tax team, which saw seven lawyers move up the ranks across the US and in Toronto, followed by dispute resolution (five) and M&A (four). The employment and compensation team welcomed two new partners, while the antitrust and competition, banking and finance and projects teams each gained one, as did the IP tech and international commercial and trade practices.

Since June last year, the firm has also made 41 lateral partner hires alongside its internal promotions. Among them was former Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance, who joined the firm in January as global chair of its global cybersecurity practice.

Other global firms to have reported comparable partner promotion rounds include DLA Piper (74), CMS (60) and Norton Rose Fulbright (54).

The full list of partners

Antitrust & Competition
Laura Liu (Beijing)
Luis Francisco (Luis) Amado Cordova (Mexico City)*

Banking & Finance
Sujade Simthamnimit (Bangkok)
Eddie Dewanda (Jakarta)
Alan Darwin (Sydney)
Emily Hsu (Taipei)
Mohamed Elharmy (Cairo)
Eugenio Muschio (Milan)
Markus Wolf (Zurich)
Jonathan Temps (Chicago)*

Capital Markets
Apichart Kasemsri Na Ayudhya (Bangkok)
Pukkapol Khuntamanee (Bangkok)
Treetip Parksook (Bangkok)
Brian Wong (Hong Kong)
Stefan Balazs (Stockholm)
Michal Glowacki (Warsaw)

Dispute Resolution
Jannice Lau (Hong Kong)
Janice Tay (Kuala Lumpur)
Ashish Chugh (Singapore)****
Amir Al Khaja (Dubai)
Sally Kotb (Dubai)
Tobias Hoefling (Frankfurt)
Karim Boulmelh (Paris)
Eugenie Rogers (Dallas)*
Aaron Goodman (Los Angeles)*
Juan Francisco Vázquez Lavista (Mexico City)*
Jodi Avila (Miami)*
Marilyn Batonga (Washington DC)*

Employment & Compensation
Theeranit Pongpanarat (Bangkok)
Brigid Maher (Sydney)
Christian Koops (Munich)
Serena Fantinelli (Rome)
Jeremy Hann (Toronto)*
Stephanie MacIntosh (Toronto)*

International Commercial & Trade
Jonathan Tam (San Francisco)*

IP Tech
Aggie Liu (Beijing)**
Abe Sun (Singapore)****
Caitlin Whale (Sydney)
Kellie Blyth (Dubai)
Simone Rieken (Frankfurt)
John Groom (London)
Julia Schieber (Zurich)
Yoon Chae (Dallas)*

M&A
Purachate Manussiripen (Bangkok)
Napatorn Dasananjali Termglinchan (Bangkok)
Liam Hickey (Melbourne)
Tharani Dharmaraj (Sydney)
Masahiro Inaba (Tokyo)
Seiji Tomimoto (Tokyo)
Laura Rietvelt (Amsterdam)
Keltoum Boudribila (Casablanca)
Sarah P. Helfers (Chicago)*
Jonathan S. Farrokhnia (Dallas)*
Federico Cuadra Del Carmen (Miami)*
Barry Chang (Palo Alto)*

Private Equity
James Heller (London)
Lukasz Targoszynski (Warsaw)

Projects 
Thanh Hai Nguyen (Hanoi) 
Matthew I. Martin*** (Toronto)*

Real Estate
Daniel Bork (Dusseldorf)

Tax
Keerati Saneewong Na Ayudthaya (Bangkok)
Krystal Ng (Kuala Lumpur)
Jaclyn Ho (Singapore)****
Javier Blazquez (Barcelona)
Ruben Lago (Barcelona)
Julie Permeke (Brussels)
Phyllis Townsend (London)
Samuel Pollack (Chicago)*
Trevor R. Mauck (New York)*
Brendan J. Sponheimer (New York)*
Yea-Jin Angela Chang (San Francisco)*
Bryan Horrigan (Toronto)*
John D. Barlow (Washington DC)*
Katie M.B Marcusse (Washington DC)*
Charles Baudoin (Paris)

*Promotions effective January 1, 2022
**Partner at FenXun Partners 
***Foreign Legal Specialist (Partner-equivalent)
****Associate Principal