London based law firm Clyde & Co has promoted 23 lawyers to partner in its latest round, a bumper crop that is the largest for the firm since 2019. 

The figure represents a significant step up on 2021 and 2020, when 16 and 13 lawyers got the nod respectively, and is just shy of 2019’s 24-strong round. 

The latest cohort also features 12 women, or 52% of the total, an improvement on last year when women made up 38% of the round. 

In line with last year, the majority of the promotions this time (14) went to lawyers in Clydes’ flagship insurance practice, as well as those based outside the firm’s home turf (16).

Miami-based Daniel Lever has become Clydes’ first projects and construction partner in the US, with the remaining six promotions in the States going to lawyers in the insurance practice: two in Chicago and one apiece in New Jersey, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC. 

Meantime the promotion of Montreal-based insurance litigation specialist Noémie Bégin, the only one in Canada, follows Clydes expanding into the west of the country last year when it opened in Vancouver after agreeing a merger with local firm SHK Law Corporation.

The firm has also boosted its partnership in South Africa, making up a trio of lawyers in its insurance practice in Johannesburg – litigation and dispute resolution specialist Ina Iyer, litigator Thomas Lawrenson and Christopher MacRoberts, who advises on coverage and defence. Their addition means Clyde now has 19 partners across its Johannesburg and Cape Town offices.

The Middle East saw two lawyers made up, with English-qualified barrister Jonathan Parker getting the nod in the projects and construction team in Doha and Roshanak Bassiri Gharb, who advises on cross-border M&A transactions and group reorganisations, moving up the ranks in Dubai. 

Singapore-based Vanessa Lim was the only lawyer to make the grade across the firm’s 13 Asia-Pacific offices, in the insurance team, while the two promotions in continental Europe went to Olga Jefremova in Paris (insurance) and Luis García Suárez in Madrid (projects and construction).

Finally, seven lawyers got the nod in the UK, only one of whom – Andrew Tolmie – was based outside the firm’s London headquarters. Tolmie was made up in the insurance team in Edinburgh, while Marta Jarque Branguli, Giovanna Cabbia and Marie-Anne Moussalli were welcomed in the energy, marine and natural resources group and Laura Coates and Christopher Leadbetter moved up in the projects and construction team. The UK cohort was completed with finance lawyer Nicholas Harding, the sole promotion in the aviation practice. 

Carolena Gordon, Clyde & Co’s senior partner, commented: “Our diverse 2022 team of new partners have all displayed the legal skills, client focus and technical expertise that we expect from our people, but they have also demonstrated the collegiality, leadership skills, drive, and empathy that we look for in our partners and leaders. They are a credit to the firm and I wish them well in the next stage of their careers.”

Clydes, which reported last July that its revenue had grown 2% to £639.6m over its financial year to 30 April against a 7.5% increase in PEP to £715k, has also made 20 partner level hires since the start of May. Among them was a trio of insurance lawyers the firm hired from Norton Rose Fulbright to open in Munich in January and corporate partner Chadi Salloum, who moved over from Morgan Lewis & Brockius in Dubai in December. 

Last year the firm also absorbed aviation-focused City boutique REN Legal to boost its transactional and commercial litigation offering in its global aviation practice and, following the arrival of a team of insurance lawyers from Foran Glennon Palandech Ponzi & Rudloff, set up shop in Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. 

More recently, Clydes announced that it had agreed to merge with UK law firm BLM, in a deal that is set to add almost £100m to Clydes' top line.