Eversheds Sutherland has appointed 38 partners across its Europe and international network in a bumper crop of promotions that sees six new partners made up in South Africa.

The tally represents a 40% increase on last year’s count of 27 new partners and nearly double the 2018 round (20).

Sixteen of the new partners are women leading to a 42% gender balance; which the firm says puts it on target to achieve 30% female representation at partner level by 2021.

The firm highlighted the fact that two of its 22 new UK partners are minority ethnic, supporting its target of achieving 10% of UK partners of ethnicity by 2025.

The six South Africa promotions make it the country with the second-highest concentration of new partners across the firm’s network after Ireland (three) and Austria and Poland (both two).

There was one promotion apiece in The Netherlands, Germany and Hong Kong. The Middle East network missed out after three promotions from the region last year.

There was, however, recognition for James Lewindon, head of legal resourcing at the firm's new law arm, Konexo.

Eversheds Sutherland’s international CEO Lee Ranson said: “We are currently operating in a uniquely challenging global environment, but I know that our 2020 cohort will continue to deliver excellence in client service as they take this significant step in their careers.”

The successful South Africa lawyers are corporate partners Andrew Davidson and Lara Wills — who are both based in Durban — and, from the Johannesburg office, commercial specialist Nikhil Lawton-Misra, Eben van Zyl, from the mining and infrastructure team, and employment advisers Tasso Anestidis and Refiloe Vengeni.

Van Zyl and Vengeni were part of a four-lawyer team which joined the firm last May from Hogan Lovells led by Warren Beech to set up a mining practice.

In October, London-based disputes partner John Kemkers was appointed head of the Africa group as part of a drive by the firm to grow its Africa business.

There was a notable boost in the number of corporate lawyers this year, up from three in 2019 to eight, although disputes lawyers were favoured the most, with nine promotions across the network.

There was also a significant increase in the number of employment lawyers promoted to the partnership, up from three in 2019 to seven. 

The bumper round of promotions comes three years after the merger between UK-based Eversheds and Atlanta-based Sutherland Asbill & Brennan went live.

Six US lawyers were promoted to the partnership on 1 January.

Company commercial

Manuel Boka, TMT, Data Protection (Vienna)

Chris Brooks, Banking (London)

Caroline Clapham, Corporate (London)

Andrew Davidson, Corporate & Commercial (Durban)   

Jubilee Easo Corporate (London)

Eve England, Commercial (Cardiff)

Dave Hughes, Commercial (Cambridge)

Roderick Lai, Corporate/M&A (Hong Kong)

Nikhil Lawton-Misra, Commercial (Johannesburg)

Michal Markowski, Project Finance (Warsaw)

Peter O'Neill, Corporate (Dublin)

Mark Roe, Corporate (London)

Lizzy Tindall, Corporate (Manchester)

Ben Tumelty, Banking (Birmingham)

Eben van Zyl, Mining and Infrastructure (Johannesburg)

Lara Wills, Corporate & Commercial (Durban)   

Human Resources

Tasso Anestidis, Employment (Johannesburg)

Julie Galbraith, Employment (Dublin)

Robert Gray, Employment (Manchester)

Marieke Koster, Employment (Rotterdam)

Jessie Uppal, Employment (Newcastle)

Refiloe Vengeni, Mining and Infrastructure (Johannesburg)

Clare Ward, Employment (Nottingham)

Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Lucy Chadwick, Litigation Construction (London)

Phil Duignan, CDR (Manchester)

Maciej Jozwiak, Litigation (Warsaw)

Eoin Mac Aodha, Litigation (Dublin)

Stephan von Marschall, CDR (Hamburg)

Deborah Polden, CDR (Leeds)              

Claire Randall-Smith, Litigation Construction (Manchester)

Gareth Vowles, FSDI (Cardiff)

Martin Ward, FSDI (Birmingham)

Real Estate

Sam Bhachu, Core Real Estate (Birmingham)   

Steven Dick, Core Real Estate (Edinburgh)

Clare Rudd, Core Real Estate (London)

Birgit Schleindl, Real Estate (Vienna)

Nicola Smith, Core Real Estate (Cardiff)

Konexo

James Lewindon (Cardiff)