DWS raids rivals to bolster Abu Dhabi and Russia

Denton Wilde Sapte (DWS) has lured back two legacy Wilde Sapte asset finance lawyers for its overseas offices.

Allen & Overy (A&O) senior associate Gary Hodgson is joining DWS’ burgeoning Abu Dhabi office. Abu Dhabi is a focus of DWS’ growth strategy, with an aim of doubling the office’s size.

Meanwhile, Ashurst senior associate Myles Mantle is joining DWS’ three-partner Moscow office.

Both Mantle and Hodgson were working at their previous firms’ Tokyo offices before being poached by DWS.

Mantle and Hodgson both worked at Wilde Sapte before it merged with Denton Hall in 2000. They increase the tally to 14 of the number of legacy Wilde Sapte or Denton Hall lawyers who have returned to DWS in the last 12 months.

DWS’ chief executive Howard Morris claimed that the reasons for this were “the quality of work, career opportunities and a great work-life balance" at the firm.