Global law firm announces 2022 partner class, spotlighting 54 lawyers from around the world
Global law firm XYZ has announced 54 lawyer promotions to partner and director positions, effective January 1, 2022, in various locations worldwide. The promotions cover 11 practice areas, with a focus on increasing gender diversity within the firm.
The firm has set a gender diversity target of 40% women in overall partnership by 2030. This target applies specifically to female partnership representation, which currently stands at 30%.
In the litigation and disputes practice area, Zayba Drabu, Matthew Buckle, James Lockwood, Annabelle Wheeler, Denton Nichols, and Geraldine Young were promoted, based in London, London, London, Munich/London, Houston, and Houston respectively. In Australia, Kate Green, Harriet Oldmeadow, and Nick Sinclair received promotions in litigation and disputes, while Joseph Drapalski was promoted in the same practice area based in Los Angeles.
In the corporate, M&A and securities practice area, Rachel Chan, Nicolas Sirtoli, Alberta Yan, Blake Redwine, and Jared Kaplanski were promoted, based in Hong Kong, London, New York, Dallas, and New York respectively. Dimitri Millas was promoted in the banking and finance practice area, based in Houston, while Eric Green was promoted in the intellectual property practice area, based in Austin.
Laura Kiwelu was promoted in the projects practice area, based in London, and Rebecca Abou-Chedid was promoted in the same practice area, based in Washington, DC. In the employment and labor practice area, Claudia Posluschny was promoted, based in Munich, and Kimberly Cheeseman was promoted, based in Houston.
Veit Sahlfeld was promoted in the banking and finance practice area, based in Hamburg, and Fiona Henderson was promoted in the same practice area, based in New York. In the tax practice area, Justin Coddington was promoted, based in Houston.
In addition, Helen Fairhead was promoted in the antitrust and competition practice area, based in London, and Rebecca Winthrop was promoted in the bankruptcy, financial restructuring and insolvency practice area, based in Los Angeles. Alex Zekkos was promoted in the banking and finance practice area, based in London, and Louisa Roe was promoted in the real estate practice area, based in London. Anna Rudawski was promoted in the information governance, privacy and cybersecurity practice area, based in New York.
Marianne McMahon was promoted as general counsel, based in London. Rafe Schaefer and Paul Cartwright were promoted in the litigation and disputes practice area, based in Houston and Johannesburg respectively. Bernd Dreier was promoted in the corporate, M&A and securities practice area, based in Munich. Nathan Baum was promoted in the litigation and disputes practice area, based in Dallas.
In Canada, Robin Acworth, Véronique Barry, Scott Boucher, Brian Chau, Matthew Choi, Jenna Anne de Jong, Russell Dufault, Alison FitzGerald, Caroline Jodoin, Jonathan Lafrance, Brigitte LeBlanc-Lapointe, Jennifer McPherson, Brian Milne, Fahad Siddiqui, Joshua Sprague, Nikita Stepin, Tim Stewart received promotions in various practice areas across Calgary, Québec, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montréal. Victoria Corder was promoted in the litigation and disputes practice area, based in New York.
Geraldine Pecht, Global Chief Executive of XYZ, praised the promoted lawyers for their industry knowledge, business acumen, and innovative solutions. Twenty-three of the 54 promoted lawyers are women, representing 43% of the total promotions. However, the firm has not explicitly stated specific gender diversity targets for leadership roles, lawyer promotions, lateral additions, or senior business services hires.
References: [1] Law.com International (2021). Kennedys sets 40% female partner target by 2030. [online] Available at: https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/06/18/kennedys-sets-40-female-partner-target-by-2030/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2022]. [2] The Lawyer (2021). Kennedys sets 40% female partner target by 2030. [online] Available at: https://www.thelawyer.com/kennedys-sets-40-female-partner-target-by-2030/1524665.article [Accessed 15 Feb. 2022].
In light of the firm's focus on increasing gender diversity, Zayba Drabu, Rebecca Abou-Chedid, Laura Kiwelu, Claudia Posluschny, Fiona Henderson, Helen Fairhead, Marianne McMahon, Victoria Corder, and Geraldine Pecht are among the promoted lawyers who are contributing to the attainment of the 40% gender diversity target in finance and business careers at XYZ by 2030. The firm, following the industry trend set by Kennedys, has recognized the importance of equitable representation in partnership roles.
