Squire Patton Boggs today announced partner hires across its Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester offices. Spanning various areas of expertise, the additions build upon the firm’s strong UK growth trajectory and continues its expansion strategy across key global practices.
“A robust practice spanning the UK that is tightly integrated into our global platform is a hallmark of our firm. These are welcome additions that advance multiple segments of our cross-border practice.” said Steve Mahon, Global Managing Partner - Clients & Strategy.
“Our UK business has been growing at a double-digit pace over the last several years and we remain committed to investing in our future, including through a combination of strategic lateral hires and organic growth,” said European Managing Partner, Jonathan Jones. “Each of these partners brings new relationships and substantial experience in areas that are of acute need to our clients.”
The new partners are as follows, with further details below:
- Miles Robinson (Litigation, London) from Mayer Brown
- Partho Chaudhuri (Corporate, Birmingham) from Deloitte
- Deborah Polden (Litigation, Leeds) from Eversheds
- Chris Roberts (Restructuring, Manchester) from DLA Piper
These hires follow over a dozen senior additions the firm has made across the UK so far this year in Corporate, Financial Services, Regulatory and Litigation, including Global Head of Financial Regulation Monica Gogna, Global Head of Structured Finance and Head of the firm’s India practice Ranajoy Basu and Eurasian Capital Markets leader Darina Kogan Bellamy (all in London).
In London, Miles Robinson joined the firm’s Litigation Practice from Mayer Brown where he was co-head of London Product Liability Practice and co-group leader for the Global Product Liability and Mass Torts Practice.
A disputes specialist with over 25 years of experience, Mr. Robinson advises on complex commercial disputes, including those relating to post M&A, joint venture, supply chain and technology issues. He has particular expertise in defending large scale group actions, having acted on them throughout his career, particularly those relating to product or environmental issues. His product liability work also involves advising clients on product recall, labelling and regulatory matters. He has substantial experience in successfully leading a broad spectrum of cases, including in High Court and appellate litigation as well as arbitrations under all the major arbitral institutions.
"Miles is a heavyweight litigator with strong client relationships who will add complementary quality and specialism at a time of strong client demand for disputes advice,” said Stephen Sampson, UK head of the firm’s Litigation Practice. “Miles is particularly renowned for his work in the chemicals sector, complementary to the expertise of our global Chemicals Industry Group, and he follows a number of hires we’ve also made in this space this year.”
Mr. Robinson commented: “Squire Patton Boggs represents a unique opportunity for me to continue to develop my practice as a member of its highly-regarded global disputes team, and to support the expansion of the UK offering. I have been impressed with the firm’s ambition, quality and its strength in sectors that are important to my practice. I look forward to playing a part in the firm’s ongoing success.”
In Birmingham, Partho Chaudhuri joins as partner in the Corporate Practice Group from Deloitte.
With over 14 years’ experience as a corporate lawyer, Mr. Chaudhuri has a track record for handling high value and complex domestic and international transactions. He advises on all stages of domestic and cross-border M&A transactions, from pre-deal structuring, restructuring, carve-outs through to transaction negotiations and post-merger integration.
Tom Durrant, Birmingham office managing partner, added: “Partho’s appointment forms part of our investment in our presence in the Midlands and underlines our commitment to clients looking for best in class corporate advice whether they are doing business at a regional, national or international level.”
“The opportunity to join Squire Patton Boggs is hugely exciting,” said Mr. Chaudhuri. “The growth of the firm’s Corporate Practice and its investment in Birmingham makes it an attractive home for me. I look forward to working with my talented colleagues in this office and across the firm in support of our clients.”
In Leeds, Deborah Polden joins from Eversheds Sutherland where she was head of the Leeds Commercial Dispute Resolution team. She will lead Squire’s Litigation Practice in Leeds.
Ms. Polden has over 15 years’ experience of acting on complex and high value commercial disputes for national and international businesses. She has particular specialisms in corporate disputes, including post-M&A and shareholder disputes, and group litigation and class actions. Ms. Polden led the consumer and retail sector disputes offering at her previous firm and she also has particular expertise in the industrials and transport industries.
“We are very pleased to welcome Deborah to the firm,” commented Prew Lumley, managing partner of the Leeds office. “Deborah is a pivotal hire for us, with opportunities to develop our Litigation practice working closely with our market-leading Corporate and Financial Services teams, and to support our growth plans for the office.”
Ms. Polden added: “Joining Squire Patton Boggs is an exciting prospect, with the firm’s strategic aims for its Litigation Practice very much aligning with my own. I am looking forward to meeting my new colleagues and having the opportunity to make my mark.”
In Manchester, Chris Roberts joins from DLA Piper, where he led the restructuring and insolvency team across the North West and contributed significantly to the development of the firm’s national practice.
With a career spanning more than two decades, Mr. Roberts focuses on non-contentious restructuring and turnaround matters, advising lenders, corporates, sponsors and officeholders. He has extensive experience leading multi-stakeholder restructurings and distressed M&A transactions across a range of sectors.
James Fitzgibbon, Manchester Managing Partner, added: “We are delighted to welcome Chris to the firm. He is a highly respected practitioner with strong relationships across the North West and wider UK markets. Chris will help to lead the charge as we continue to grow the office, working alongside our market-leading corporate and financial services teams to develop opportunities for restructuring and insolvency work.”
Mr. Roberts said: “I’ve been impressed by the ambition of the firm’s global Restructuring & Insolvency Practice, the growth trajectory of the Manchester office, and the energy and calibre of the partners I’ve met. It feels like the right environment – and the right time – to continue doing what I love: helping clients navigate change and building and mentoring high-performing teams.”