Top 35 UK law firm Charles Russell Speechlys has six new partners following its latest round of promotions. 

The cohort is a slight step up on 2021, when the firm made up five partners, though like last year’s this round includes two women.  

Three of those made up – Cara Imbrailo, Mark White and Charlie Ring – are based in London. Imbrailo, who advises on commercial real estate transactions, and White, who focuses on the acquisition and disposal of commercial property interests, got the nod in the real estate team, while Ring was made up in the financial services and funds practice. He advises clients on private acquisitions and disposals, complex corporate reorganisations, shareholder agreements, investments, and joint ventures.

The UK promotions were completed by Guildford-based Richard Flenley, a commercially focused disputes lawyer specialising in real estate and infrastructure disputes who was promoted in the real estate disputes practice. 

Unlike last year when all of those promoted were in the UK, this year Alice Martin was made up in the tax trusts and succession team in Zurich and Raphaël Bagdassarian got the nod in the corporate tax practice in Paris. 

Martin advises wealthy families and their trustees, family offices and advisers on cross-border succession planning combined with UK tax advice, while Bagdassarian advises clients on a range of French tax issues including tax restructuring, private equity, venture capital investment and the taxation of executives. 

Bart Peerless, senior partner at Charles Russell Speechlys, said: “It is hugely exciting to welcome these individuals into the partnership. These promotions are strongly supportive of the firm’s strategy both in the UK and internationally and I look forward to the contribution they will each make to this in the years ahead.”

The promotions come off the back off strong financial results for the firm for the financial year ending 5 April 2021, with the firm recording a revenue rise of 8.6% compared to the previous year to £173m as profit per equity partner soared 40.2% to hit £533k. 

Over the past year the firm, which has one of the biggest private client offerings in the UK, has also made a number of partner-level lateral hires across its network of 11 offices. Among them was Tom Henderson, who joined the firm in London last month as head of trusts from accountancy firm Rawlinson & Hunter, where he established and led the Zurich office. At the start of the year the firm also added a family team in Hong Kong from local firm Boase Cohen & Collins led by partner Lisa Wong.   

And last May it boosted its international wealth structuring capabilities with the addition of a four-strong international tax team led by partner Robert Reymond, with the team joining from the London office of Canadian firm Stikeman Elliott.

A number of Charles Russell Speechly’s larger UK rivals have announced bumper promotion rounds recently, notably DLA Piper, which last week unveiled a 74-strong round that almost achieved gender parity. 

Herbert Smith Freehills unveiled its own bumper crop last week, with 14 out of the 34 partner slots going to women lawyers. 

The list of UK firms to have announced their partner promotions in recent weeks includes Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance, Stephenson Harwood, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Clyde & Co and Slaughter and May.