Revealed: Davis Polk snares Freshfields partner for English law launch
Davis Polk & Wardwell is launching an English law capability in London with the hire of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer heavy hitter Simon Witty.
Simon Witty
Witty has been a partner in Freshfields’ London corporate department for the past 15 years. He specialises in public and private securities offerings and mergers and acquisitions.
“We’ve seen Simon’s work first-hand in handling some of the most complex equity transactions in Europe,” said Davis Polk managing partner Tom Reid in a statement. “He’s ideally suited to help us launch our English law practice in London and to develop our existing English law capabilities in China and Brazil.”
Witty added: “I’ve greatly enjoyed my time at Freshfields, but the opportunity to continue my practice at Davis Polk provides a new and exciting challenge. I’ll be privileged to have been a partner at two such fine law firms.”
The hire of Witty is a radical move for Davis Polk, which until now has relied on best-friends relationships with UK firms, in particular with Slaughter and May.
One legal market consultant said: “This will really put the cat among the pigeons with Slaughters as Davis Polk is their closest US firm for referrals, it’s part of the inner circle. Who will they turn to now?”
Tom Reid
Witty is widely cited as one of London’s leading equity capital markets lawyers, having acted on numerous international IPOs and listings including those of Yell, eircom, Premier Foods, Virgin Mobile, Inmarsat, Britvic, QinetiQ and Experian.
Witty also worked on Abbey National’s acquisition of National and Provincial Building Society, Northern Rock’s conversion and flotation and Dominion Resources’ successful bid for East Midlands Electricity.
Last week The Lawyer reported that Witty was among the Freshfields lawyers that had acted on numerous deals for Goldman Sachs (2 January 2012), helping propel the magic circle firm into dual pole position for work from the US investment bank.
In recent months Davis Polk has significantly expanded its English law capability overseas, specifically in Hong Kong and São Paulo.
A Freshfields spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to see Simon go and we wish him the best.”
Readers' comments (7)
Polka dots | 6-Jan-2012 3:01 pm
Freshfields have become the favourite place for US firms to raid. You can cut your equity all you like to keep your profits high, but that won't stop the Yanks coming
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Sceptik Yank | 6-Jan-2012 4:07 pm
Should've gone to Linklaters. Could have picked up a bargain. Maybe they still will.
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Abraham Lincoln | 6-Jan-2012 4:32 pm
Now that the Wall St elite appear to have discovered London can we expect to see Wachtell finally decide it needs to be here? Thought not...
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Anonymous | 6-Jan-2012 4:52 pm
No, Abe (I can call you Abe, can't I?), Wachtell won't, and nor will Cravath, whose DNA is equally set against any sort of overseas presence. Different for Davis Polk, who have had a presence of sorts in a number of major jurisdictions for some time. It has got harder and harder for DP to justify the major lacuna of having diddly in London. This, one imagines, is merely the opening gambit of what will probably be a swift game of catch-up in the City.
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Kevin Ng | 7-Jan-2012 4:36 pm
To the poster above: Cravath have been in London since 1973.
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Anonymous | 9-Jan-2012 10:37 am
But not practising English law.
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James Fairweather | 9-Jan-2012 10:41 am
True, Kevin, but Davis Polk have had an office here for ages as well. The point is that Cravath don't, and in all probability, never will, practise English law - it's just the way they are. For Davis Polk, not practising English law in England was a strange anomaly, considering that they practise it elsewhere in the world. That is now remedied, as it had to be. One may argue how sustainable the Cravath model will be down the track, but that is another discussion for another day.
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