Weekly update - 23rd of february 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 Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has hired Mayer Brown's former Head of Leveraged Finance Stuart Brinkworth. Paul Hastings has hired a Private Equity Partner from Cooley in London. Ferish Patel joins as the ninth Partner to arrive in the city office in the past six months. Sidley has made its second senior hire from Latham in London this year, recruiting James Inness, the firm's Co-Head of Capital Markets. He reunites with former colleague David Stewart, who joined Sidley in April 2025. RPC Partner Jeremy Drew has joined Taylor Wessing in London, marking the firm's first hire since Partners voted through its US merger with Winston & Strawn. Proskauer has hired Fund Finance Partner Mei Mei Wong from DLA Piper, the latest addition for the US firm as it continues to grow its London partnership. The Birmingham office of Irwin Mitchell has announced the appointment of Restructuring and Insolvency Partner, Katie Molloy. Katie joins from Gowling WLG, where she was Principal Associate. Pinsent Masons has added WilmerHale Arbitration Counsel Cem Kalelioğlu as a Partner in its International Arbitration practice. Peter Edworthy joins the Litigation boutique in London as Partner, having spent 13 years at Milbank as an associate in the firm's Litigation and Arbitration team. Benjamin Rapp joins Weil Gotshal & Manges from Gibson Dunn in Frankfurt, where he spent just under two years, to lead the firm's German Tax practice. Banking & Finance Partner Frederik Bo Karup and Kristoffer Lund Poulsen have joined BAHR's Copenhagen office from Poul Schmith. Kalish Mullen is set to join McDermott's French transactions practice to focus on Debt Finance for Private Equity Sponsors and their portfolio companies. Mullen joins from Kirkland & Ellis. Hogan Lovells' Paris Restructuring Partner Astrid Zourli is leaving the firm to join French powerhouse Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier as Head of its Restructuring practice. Middle East Rehan El Bashary, who previously worked at Venture by Shahid, has joined Ragy Soliman & Partners in the Cairo office in Egypt. Merger-bound Hogan Lovells has hired top-ranked Public Law Partner Luca Perfetti and his four-lawyer team to join its Global Regulatory and Intellectual Property practice in Milan. Promotions & Appointments Rachel Reid has been appointed Global Co-Head of AI, joining Nasser Ali Khasawneh in leading the firm's global AI initiatives. Harvey has hired Joe Cohen from Charles Russell Speechlys as a Legal Innovation Partner. His role will be to partner with law firm leaders to rethink how AI is shaping legal service delivery, business models and firm operations. Natalie Lewis, Head of Fintech, Market Infrastructure & Payments at Travers Smith, receives invite-only personal appointment to the Financial Markets Law Committee. Al Tamimi and Company has appointed a new Chief People Officer. Graham de Guise has joined from Osborne Clarke, where he served in the same role on both the firm's international and UK executive boards. Ziyad Alraqas (Corporate Litigation & Dispute Resolution) will join the Riyadh office. Firm and Market Activity Office Openings & Closings Michelmores is set to launch in Cambridge with a three-partner team from Broadfield, leaving the latter firm with a much-diminished offering in the city. It will be Michelmores' fifth office, after Bristol, Cheltenham, Exeter and London. Real estate partner Simon Burson, who originally set up Cambridge office of Broadfield (formerly BDB Pitmans), corporate partner Duncan Walker and residential property partner Tim Middleton are the partners leading the move. Minster Law is returning to the London market for the first time in a decade with the launch of an office in Eastcheap in the first half of 2026. The Birmingham team has now moved into Chamberlain Square. The new office reflects their long-term commitment to the region and offers a modern, collaborative space for their people, clients and contacts. Irwin Mitchell is moving to new office space in Gatwick showcasing its commitment not just to the Gatwick Diamond, but the region more generally. Its space on the second floor of The Portland Building in Crawley will house more than 80 colleagues as well as visitors from other offices. Linklaters has unveiled its new global headquarters at 20 Ropemaker Street in London. The 360,000 sq ft landmark development in the City has been designed to support the firm's culture of teamwork and high-performance. Mergers & Alliances Managed services business Opensity Solutions has now officially launched, having been created through the combination of K2 Services and its acquisitions of Epiq GBTS and Forrest Solutions in November last year. The newly created business provides end-to-end tech-enabled managed services to legal and other professional services firms globally. The combination brings together more than 4,500 professionals and 500 clients with employees based in the US, Canada, India and the Philippines. Legal research and AI firm Doctrine has agreed to acquire Spanish legal information provider Maite. The deal marks Paris-based Doctrine's fifth acquisition, or strategic investment, over the past three years, powered by a 2023 majority growth investment from Summit Partners and Peugeot Invest. Financial Results Norton Rose Fulbright has posted a robust set of financial results for 2025, with firmwide revenue hitting a new record of $2.8bn after achieving 16 per cent year-on-year growth. More significantly, NRF's global profit per equity partner (PEP) also hit a new high, rising to $2m for the first time after a 27 per cent increase. NRF's managing partner for Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific (EMEAPAC) Peter Scott said the results reflected "a fundamental shift" in his firm's market positioning. Market Commentary Freshfields has introduced a non-equity partner tier, according to Law.com, bringing it closer to a model now prevalent across Big Law - particularly for elite US firms and UK rivals looking to compete. Often used by European firms as a tool to disincentivise partner departures, the move to use the full extent of the firm's contractual notice period marks a shift in normal practice and follows the exits of several high-profile partners from across the firm's Europe offices. Innovation & Culture Technology & Innovation Consultancy firm Stella Legal has announced a partnership agreement with AI contracting platform Ironclad to help its customers improve their contract lifecycle management (CLM). The collaboration is designed to address the gap between technology investment and business outcome. AI-powered time management platform Laurel has its sights set on a future IPO, confirmed the company's CEO Ryan Alshak. When asked when that might take place, he said: "With the growth we are seeing, we're working backwards from a 48-month timeline." The start-up, which launched as Time by Ping in 2016 in San Francisco, uses AI to more accurately calculate and analyse how professionals, including lawyers, allocate their time at work, integrating with all the software they use.

Weil bolsters secondaries capabilities with addition of Private Funds partner Corey Dietrich. International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that Corey Dietrich has joined the Firm as a partner in its U.S. Private Funds Group, based in the New York office. Dietrich joins Weil from Proskauer Rose LLP where he was a partner in that firm's private funds group. Corey primarily represents buyers and sellers, as well as private fund sponsors, in connection with complex secondary transactions, including GP-led transactions and traditional sales and purchases of fund interests. He has extensive experience guiding single asset spin-out arrangements, fund recapitalizations, preferred financings and "stapled" secondary transactions. "Corey has led some of the largest and highest-profile secondaries transactions in the market over the past several years, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Firm," said Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf. "He is an ideal cultural fit for our team with deep industry expertise in an area of increasing client demand." "Corey has built a strong reputation for being technically excellent, commercially savvy and client-focused," said Michael J. Aiello, Chairman of Weil's Corporate Department. "He has extensive experience representing both the buy-side and sell-side, which will be invaluable for our clients as this market continues to grow and evolve." "Corey has quickly established himself as a driving force in the fast-emerging, private credit secondaries markets," said U.S. Private Funds Co-Head Stephanie Srulowitz and Private Equity partner Brian Parness. "We remain laser-focused on helping our clients capitalize on the vast opportunity in the secondaries markets, and Corey's arrival marks an important step forward in this effort." "I'm thrilled to join Weil as the Firm continues to expand its renowned Private Funds platform," said Corey Dietrich. "I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to give our clients the clear, actionable guidance they need to navigate today's fast changing markets."

Alice Blain joins Proskauer as Private Equity Transactions partner. Proskauer announced today that Alice Blain has joined the Firm as a partner in its Private Equity Transactions Group in New York. Alice advises private equity sponsors on complex mergers and acquisitions, carve-out transactions and joint ventures. Blain began her legal career at Kirkland & Ellis and joins Proskauer from Paul, Weiss. Alice has broad experience executing sophisticated transactions for leading private equity sponsors. Known for her steady leadership and clarity under pressure, Alice is widely regarded for her ability to anticipate client needs, resolve challenges before they escalate and keep negotiations on track. Alice also served as the sole in-house lawyer at a mid-market private equity fund, where she led the legal work on multiple investments. "Private equity deal value is increasing and we're growing with our clients as they expand in this space," said Firm Chairman, Tim Mungovan. "Alice brings deal experience and a proven ability to navigate this sector with clarity and discipline." "Alice's hire is an important step as we build a premier team focused on the middle market," said Sarah Stasny, Head of Proskauer's Private Equity Transactions Group - US. "She combines technical excellence with remarkable communication skills and the ability to ask the right questions, shaped by her early work and educational background in journalism. She is an outstanding lawyer and teammate who can drive transactions forward and support our clients' strategic goals." "Joining Proskauer is an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues who share a commitment to excellence and innovation in private equity dealmaking. I look forward to contributing to the Firm's growth and client success," said Alice.