US top 40 firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has made up 11 partners in its annual promotional round, up from just seven last year. 

This year’s tally brings the Wall Street firm’s total partner headcount to 171. Nine counsel and four senior associates also got the nod this year, boosting the number in those positions to 56 and 42 respectively. 

More than half (54%) of this year’s promotions to the partnership were made across Cleary’s European office network, with one apiece in Milan, Brussels, Cologne and Paris, while intellectual property lawyer Gareth Kristensen and competition lawyer Henry Mostyn got the nod in London. 

Tihir Sarkar, partner and member of the firm’s executive committee, pointed to the recent rapid growth seen by the firm’s antitrust practice in London, which received a boost in March when it hired Slaughter & May competition veteran Jackie Holland as a partner. 

“Henry’s promotion will bolster our market-leading antitrust practice, in the UK, the EU and globally,” Sarkar said, adding that Kristensen’s appointment demonstrates the firm’s continued strategic focus on beefing up its IP capabilities in the EMEA region. 

Four of the remaining promotions were made across the firm’s US network, with three in its New York headquarters and foreign investment and national security specialist Chase Kaniecki moving up the ranks in Washington DC. 

The final spot went to corporate lawyer Lynn Ammar in Abu Dhabi. Following Ammar’s appointment, Cleary now has three on-the-ground partners in the Middle East after planting its flag in the UAE back in 2012. 

Three of the 11 spots (27%) went to women this year, marking a slight improvement on last year when only one woman made the cut in the seven-strong round. 

The firm's M&A practice saw the highest number of promotions this year with four appointments, followed closely by competition, which saw two made up. And one lawyer apiece was promoted in the corporate, IP, litigation, capital markets and foreign investment practices. 

Introducing the new cohort, Michael Gerstenzang, Cleary’s managing partner, said: “These accomplished individuals embody the strength of Cleary’s culture and practices across geographies, and reflect our commitment to providing our clients with the highest calibre of service wherever they are in world.”

Last week, New York rival White & Case made up 59 lawyers in its largest ever promotional round, with 54% of the new appointments coming from the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Africa office network.