Weekly update - 24th August 2026. Welcome to this week's update, where we bring you the latest moves, promotions, and strategic appointments shaping the legal industry. Partner Moves Individual UK & Ireland UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson has appointed Paul Duggan as Partner in its Banking and Finance practice in Cardiff, further deepening the firm's expertise in debt finance and reinforcing its commitment to building sector-leading teams across its UK and Ireland network. Paul joins from Blake Morgan. William Fry has appointed Maebh Doyle as a Partner in its Banking & Finance team in Ireland. A dual-qualified solicitor in Ireland and in England and Wales, she brings more than a decade of experience advising investment banks, investment managers, credit institutions, private equity funds, debt funds and corporate borrowers on domestic and cross-border transactions. Maebh joins from A&L Goodbody where she was a Senior Associate. Hugh Tebay has joined Mills & Reeve as a Partner in its Oxford office from Mishcon de Reya. He advises technology-focused businesses on a broad range of commercial and transactional matters. Edwin Coe has strengthened its London property litigation practice with the hire of Partner Paul Henson from Irwin Mitchell. The move comes as the firm continues its wider growth strategy. Mishcon de Reya has announced the expansion of its Real Estate department through the addition of new Partner, Roshni Kotecha Chadda. Roshni joins from CMS. Drummond Miller has strengthened its Private Client team with the appointment of experienced solicitor Ryan Morton as Partner. Mr Morton will be primarily based at the firm's Bearsden office, bringing more than a decade of experience advising individuals and families on Private Client and conveyancing matters. Before joining Drummond Miller, he spent almost five years with Jones Whyte in Glasgow, Law firm Flint Bishop has made a further investment in its Corporate practice in Sheffield with the appointment of a new Partner. Russell Bainbridge has joined from Knights and brings more than a decade of experience advising businesses, shareholders and lenders on a broad range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, employee ownership trusts, corporate restructurings and governance matters. Laura Hasson has joined Stephenson Harwood as a Partner in its London-based Private Wealth Disputes team. She joins from Clifford Chance, where she was a Senior Associate, and advises clients on high-value private wealth and commercial disputes. Hill Dickinson has expanded its Corporate team in Leeds with the appointments of Partners Mike O'Halloran and Thomas Mieszkowski from Walker Morris. The pair join alongside former colleagues Jamie Guy and Adhiraj Gupta as the firm continues to grow its Corporate offering in the region. Laura Steen, a leading expert in commercial disputes, will be joining the firm in London on 1 September 2026. Laura joins from Morrison Foerster where she was Of Counsel. Nils Rahlf is moving to the corporate practice of K&L Gates. The Partner and experienced M&A lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright will move to K&L Gates' Frankfurt office in September. Promotions & Appointments Dillon Eustace in Dublin is pleased to announce the appointment of Keith Robinson, a Partner in the Firm's Banking and Capital Markets team, as Managing Partner, with effect from 1 August 2026. He succeeds Donnacha O'Connor, who, after six years, returns to full-time practice in the Firm's Asset Management and Investment Funds and Financial Regulation teams. Byrne Wallace Shields has announced that this year six lawyers have been promoted to Partner, one to Of Counsel, seven to Managing Associate level and two to a Senior Associate level. Firm and Market Activity Office Openings & Closings DWF has closed its Riyadh office, making it the first UK-headquartered firm to do so ever since Saudi Arabia opened the legal sector to foreign firms in 2023. Moore & Van Allen (MVA) is set to open an office in Washington DC with hires from Seyfarth Shaw and Haynes & Boone, expanding its government contracts and national security capabilities as it continues to grow beyond its Carolinas base. The office - set to open at the beginning of October - will be the firm's fifth and second outside the Carolinas after its launch in Atlanta earlier this year. Mergers & Alliances UK regional firm Knights is further expanding in the Thames Valley area with the acquisition of THP Solicitors. The deal will see Knights add a staff of 30 to its roster, bringing expertise in advising local businesses, families and private individuals. The incoming group will join Knights' office in Reading. Knights will acquire THP for £4m on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to customary working capital adjustments. The deal is expected to complete on 25 September. Four experienced legal professionals have snapped up a 34-strong law firm which operates from Darlington and Northallerton. Angie Papprill, Robyn Carroll, Vicky John and Emma Huscroft have taken ownership of Clark Willis Solicitors, with plans to grow the practice through the expansion of its services to both individuals and businesses. Knights has finalised its long-expected acquisition of the commercial and private wealth practices of South of England firm Moore Barlow, with the personal injury division hived off to Fletchers. The separate disposal of its personal injury, clinical negligence and Court of Protection business will take place immediately prior to the deal, which is set to complete on 1 November. Knights will acquire the teams for £ 27m, with £18m payable on completion with the remainder paid over the following three years. Financial Results Pinsent Masons has posted a modest 3 per cent rise in turnover for the 2025/26 financial year, with average Profit Per Equity Partner sliding back to a level last seen at the firm in 2021/22. Turnover for the year was £703.1m - up from £680.1m - while net profit nudged down from last year's restated figure of £156m to £154m. PEP, meanwhile, fell from £797,000 to £740,000, just £1,000 more than the £739,000 the firm achieved four years ago. Market Commentary After years of having Non-Executive positions on its Board, Ashurst has decided to drop the role from its newly merged C-suite, announced last month, to make room for Perkins Coie representatives. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has revealed that it received 42 reports about the potential misuse of AI over the last 12 months. The disclosure accompanies the SRA's publication today of a 'warning notice' to solicitors, alerting them to the dangers of AI misuse. Luke Golding has joined Away Resorts as Senior Legal Counsel in London, marking his first in-house role. He joins from Deloitte, where he was a Director, and brings experience gained over several years in private practice. Innovation & Culture Technology & Innovation Legaltech giant Harvey has announced the launch of Harvey II, creating a platform that promises to accelerate personalised AI work for lawyers and move towards a greater focus on agentic legal tasks. The firm says the new platform brings together features including Memory, an AI lawyer personalisation tool that enables individual preferences to be carried across Harvey, Word, Outlook and agents. Legaltech giant Legora is partnering with content management intelligence provider Box to integrate their services where mutual customers have access to both platforms. The integration will allow their shared clients to browse and select relevant documents that are stored in Box from inside Legora, where they can be applied to routine tasks including legal analysis, drafting and due diligence. Additionally, Legora's agentic system can be applied to the documents that are managed in Box. Harvey has agreed a strategic partnership with UK-based AI legal drafting platform Avvoka, combining the legal tech giant's expertise with Avvoka's document engine. The partnership allows legal teams to draft from their own firm's bespoke templates that are powered by Avvoka within Harvey's AI platform, making it easier to incorporate approved clauses and details. This means a document can be carried through the full case process without having to leave Harvey.

Restructuring & Insolvency Practice continues expansion at Squire Patton Boggs. Monday, August 17, 2026 Global law firm Squire Patton Boggs has strengthened its Restructuring & Insolvency Practice with the addition of Oksana Lashko as a partner in its New York office and National Co-Chair of the firm's Creditors' Committee Practice. Lashko joins the firm from Morrison & Foerster. Oksana is an accomplished restructuring attorney with extensive experience representing official and ad hoc creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors, institutional lenders, bondholders, administrative agents, companies and other significant parties in-interest in Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings and cross-border insolvency matters. Her practice encompasses all aspects of complex restructurings, including liability management transactions, debtor-in-possession and exit financings, section 363 sales, plan negotiations and complex bankruptcy litigation. She joins from Morrison Foerster. Of note, over the course of her career, Oksana has a proven track record of successful engagements advising official committees of unsecured creditors, including in the chapter 11 cases of DelMonte Foods, Saks Global, Accuride, Instant Brands, Briggs & Stratton and Ravn Air. "Oksana is another excellent addition to our growing global team and enhances the depth of experience and sophisticated market perspective across a range of industries that dovetail with our global practice," said Stephen Lerner, Global Chair of Squire Patton Boggs' Restructuring & Insolvency Practice. "Her arrival strengthens our capabilities in New York and further increases our ability to deliver coordinated, cross-border advice to clients navigating complex financial and operational challenges. We are delighted to welcome her to the firm." "I was impressed by the scale and depth of Squire Patton Boggs' global Restructuring & Insolvency Practice and the opportunity to help lead and grow its creditors' committee practice," said Ms. Lashko. "The firm's international reach, deep restructuring capabilities and ability to bring together cross disciplinary teams provide a powerful platform for representing creditors and other stakeholders in facing increasingly complex domestic and cross-border challenges. I am excited to join the firm and look forward to working with colleagues across the global practice to build on its strong momentum." Oksana's arrival continues Squire Patton Boggs' strategic investment in its global Restructuring & Insolvency Practice. Over the past year, Katherine Catanese joined in New York from Foley & Lardner where she was Vice Chair of the Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice, Chris Roberts joined in Manchester from DLA Piper where he led the restructuring and insolvency team across the North West and Deborah Brown joined the firm's Birmingham office from DLA Piper where she led the restructuring and insolvency team in the Midlands. Squire Patton Boggs' Restructuring & Insolvency Practice consists of over 130 lawyers spanning 36 offices in 15 countries. Analysis | Jobs | News

Morrison Foerster secures CFIUS star. Published on 31/07/2026 The latest hire bolsters the firm's capabilities in advising clients navigating complex regulatory landscapes. Global law firm Morrison Foerster has appointed partner Annie Wartanian Reisinger to its national security practice group in the firm's Washington, DC office. Reisinger joins the firm following seven years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury where she served most recently as senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel for International Affairs, as well as spending time as co-lead counsel for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Across her two decades of experience, Reisinger has helped develop the committee's jurisdictional practice as well as being the clearance authority for all CFIUS mitigation instruments and orders. Additionally, Reisinger has experience advising on cross-border sanctions and export control matters. Co-chair of the national security practice David Newman commented: "Annie spent years as one of the U.S. government's most accomplished and well respected CFIUS lawyers, and I could not be more thrilled to welcome her to Morrison Foerster. Her technical mastery of both the governing law and the CFIUS process, along with deep insights into how key determinations are made will be invaluable to clients seeking to navigate cross-border investment reviews and the broader national security regulatory landscape." Of her new role Reisinger said: "Morrison Foerster has built one of the premier national security practices in the country, bringing together exceptional lawyers with deep government experience, technical expertise, and a strong reputation for sophisticated client service. I am honoured to join this remarkable team in advising clients on increasingly complex CFIUS, sanctions, export control, and national security challenges while continuing to grow the firm's leading practice." Related firms. Related publications.