Legacy Hogan London chief quits Hogan Lovells for King & Spalding

Pegg, who was managing partner of Hogan’s City office and is currently co-chair of Hogan Lovells’ global energy and natural resources practice, will join King & Spalding as London co-managing partner. He will share the role with incumbent John Keffer.

Keffer said: “We invited Garry to be co-managing partner. In the life of the London office of a US firm it’s natural that leadership comes from people from the local community. We’ve reached the stage in our evolution when it makes sense to do that.”

Pegg is joining along with fellow energy partner Hywel Jones, also a legacy Hogan partner, and a team made up of counsel Nina Howell and associates Leon Sosnowski and Susanna Marshall.

“This is a significant addition to our team in London and demonstrates the firm’s ongoing commitment to investing in key practices and jurisdictions,” said Keffer.

In a statement Pegg added: “King & Spalding’s a dynamic, ambitious firm with an immensely appealing vision for its future. I really look forward to starting with the firm.

“The global energy platform of King & Spalding is superb for me and the team, and the ability to play a leading role in growing the office plays to my strengths and I enjoy it.”

King & Spalding’s City office, which opened in 2003, has a focus on commercial and financial work, particularly in the energy space. The new hires will bring the firm’s London partner headcount to 12 with a total of 25 lawyers.

Pegg has a history of working for US firms, having joined Hogan from Dewey & LeBoeuf legacy firm LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae in 2001. Prior to LeBoeuf he had been at Clifford Chance.

The departures are the most significant since the Hogan Lovells merger took place. Immediately prior to the merger Lovells Beijing head Robert Lewis, the driving force behind the firm’s Sino-Global Legal Alliance, left for China’s AllBright Law Offices (29 April 2010).

This was followed by the loss of legacy Hogan Shanghai chief Arthur Mok, who joined Ropes & Gray (5 May 2010), and legacy Hogan Beijing head Roger Peng, who joined Paul Hastings (6 May 2010).