Clyde & Co has promoted 19 to partner in it latest round, with women accounting for almost half of the cohort – the highest percentage of female promotions since 2020 when 54% of the 13 lawyers promoted were female.

The 19 promotions mark a fall of seven following last year’s round that came after its merger with BLM. Women made up 47% of the 2024 class, up from 46% last year, with the UK accounting for five of those promotions across its London and Manchester offices. The promotions will take effect from May.

This year’s promotions are particularly notable for geographical and sectoral diversity. More than a third of the new partners are based outside the UK, with the Asia-Pacific region performing well, including three in Sydney and one in Singapore. One of the Sydney promotions – Melissa Tang – was in energy.

Additional partners were also promoted in Dubai, Chicago, and New York. The Dubai promotion, aviation lawyer Zoe Tite, follows a 13-lawyer hire from PwC last year, alongside an office opening in Egypt.

The firm’s burgeoning US arm saw a nine-lawyer team arrive from troubled US law firm Lewis Brisbois in February in Chicago. That office promoted one partner this year, the other US elevation in New York.

In the UK, the promotions were spread across London, Manchester, Guildford and Edinburgh. The London office added Robin Wood from CMS as a partner in its projects and construction practice this month. Most London promotions were in the firm’s flagship insurance practice.

Notably, six new partners belong to the energy, marine, and natural resources practice group, a focus area for the firm following the recent establishment of a new office in Warsaw. This office was inaugurated by recruiting a multidisciplinary corporate and energy team earlier this year.

The firm’s senior partner, Carolena Gordon, emphasised the importance of diverse talents within Clyde & Co, noting that the newly promoted partners had consistently delivered the expert advice and high-level service that its global clientele expected.

“These new partners reflect the best of our firm and are a testament to the outstanding work being done across all our practice areas,” Gordon said.

While there were fewer promotions this year, 2023’s total of 26 partners was the highest number appointed in five years, exceeding the pre-pandemic high of 24 in 2019.

This year’s promotion round comes after a number of partner exits around the world, with a three-lawyer projects team in Australia departing for Norton Rose Fulbright in August last year and a four-lawyer disputes team in Sydney exiting to HFW in January.

It also lost partners to DWF and CMS in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while 14 partners left the firm in January as part of a post-merger restructuring. The BLM merger helped fuel a 20% jump in Clyde & Co’s revenue to £788.6m, with PEP steady at £708k.

The full list of partners:

Asia-Pacific

Paul Collier – Singapore (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources) 
Luke O’Kane - Sydney (Insurance) [Promoted to partner in January 2024] 
James Rigney – Sydney (Insurance) 
Melissa Tang – Sydney (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources)

EMEA  

Zoe Tite – Dubai (Aviation)

North America  

Laura Gongaware – New York (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources) 
Patrick Grand – Chicago (Insurance)

UK

Craig Bird – Guildford (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources) 
Clare Davis – Manchester (Insurance – Casualty) 
William Glynn – London (Insurance) 
Ian Hopkinson – London (Disputes) 
Wynne Lawrence – London (Insurance) 
Andrew Lucas – London (Insurance) 
Anna Myrvang – London (Disputes) 
Alexandra Payne – Manchester (Insurance – Casualty) 
Sian Purath – London (Insurance) 
Tom Roberts – London (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources) 
Felipe Sperandio – London (Energy, Marine and Natural Resources) 
Alison Tyler – Edinburgh (Insurance – Casualty)