Clyde & Co has announced its first post-merger partner promotions round, with 26 lawyers promoted, three more than in 2021.

The promotions were split between four ad hoc promotions made in the summer of 2022, following the firm’s merger with BLM, and 22 elevations to the partnership in May. It is the highest number of partners appointed in five years, following a pre-pandemic high in 2019 of 24.

Just under half of the partners elevated were women (46%) – a fall of 8% on last year when 52% of those promoted were women, against a five-year average of 46.2%. The fall in the percentage of women promotions mirrors partner rounds elsewhere, with Ashurst, CMS and Addleshaw Goddard all recording falls in the numbers of female partners promoted.

The firm’s promotions spanned its insurance, projects and construction, real estate, disputes, corporate, and energy, marine and natural resources sectors, with the accent firmly on its core insurance business, with 13 partners promoted.

The disputes, projects and construction groups welcomed four new partners each to their teams, with the firm’s energy, natural resources and shipping groups promoting three partners. Real estate and corporate announced one partner each, both in London.

Two partners were promoted in Asia-Pacific; one in Singapore, one in Brisbane and two in Europe in Paris and Dusseldorf. Four partners were promoted in North America, split equally between the US and Canada, reflecting previous mergers and lateral hires in that region, most recently in Boston in February.

There were five promotions in the Middle East, all in Dubai, split between projects, construction and disputes. The five promotions were Dubai’s highest promotions tally, which the firm said was evidence of growth across the region, following the opening of an associated office in Egypt in February.  

Most of the firm’s promotions were in the UK, with half of those promoted having UK practices. Six were in London, the firm’s headquarters, and two in Manchester, two in Bristol, one in Cardiff, one in Birmingham and one in Edinburgh. Of these, four of the regional promotions were from legacy BLM, which merged with Clyde & Co in July last year.

The firm’s turnover in FY2021/22 grew 1.6% to £650m. At the same time, profit per equity partner dipped slightly from £715,000 to £708,000, which the firm said was due to an increase in the number of equity partners, with 21 lateral hires in the 2021/22 financial year alongside 23 partner promotions.

While there have been departures – most notably former senior partner Simon Konsta to DAC Beachcroft – the partner promotions mirror the firm’s revenue splits, and play to its strengths, further boosted by a significant product liability team hire from DWF in January. The promotions arguably reinforce Clyde’s reputation for being well-led and well-run, in contrast to former rival, Ince Gordon Dadds, which entered administration recently.

Carolena Gordon, Clyde & Co’s senior partner, said: “Our new partners embody our core values – not only do they have the professional skills, commercial understanding and sector specialism to allow them to excel for our clients, but they work collaboratively, act with ambition and lead our diverse teams with understanding and care. They are a credit to the firm, and I wish them well as they join our 500-strong partnership.”  

The full list of partners  

APAC  
Junxiang Koh – Singapore (Disputes) 
Stefanie Luhrs – Brisbane (Insurance)

Europe  
Michael Conrad – Paris (Projects & Construction) 
Paul Malek – Dusseldorf (Insurance)

MEA  
Alexa Hall – Dubai (Projects & Construction) 
Alexandra Lester – Dubai (Disputes) 
Sherif Maher – Dubai (Disputes) 
Jeremy Munce – Dubai (Projects & Construction) 
Leonard Soudagar – Dubai (Energy, Marine & Natural Resources)

North America  
Gabriel Archambault – Montreal (Insurance) 
Christopher Bakker – Vancouver (Insurance)  
Meghan Dalton – Chicago (Insurance) 
Yvonne Schulte – Los Angeles (Insurance)  

UK  
Rosehana Amin – London (Insurance)  
Seaton Gordon – London (Insurance - Cyber)  
Sam Holden – London (Insurance)  
Stephen Lintott – Manchester (Real Estate) 
Kate Lister – Bristol (Projects & Construction) 
Craig McAdam – Manchester (Disputes) 
Alexander Oldershaw – London (Insurance) 
Tara Smith – London (Energy, Marine & Natural Resources) 
Tom Tippett – London (Corporate & Advisory) 

Promotions made following last year's merger with BlM
Jane Lang – Cardiff (Insurance - Healthcare) 
Gemma Pearce – Bristol (Energy, Marine & Natural Resources) 
Alison Siniver – Birmingham (Insurance) 
Shirley Wyles – Edinburgh (Insurance - Casualty)