Mayer Brown wins two more partners for London

Mayer Brown has upped the pace of its lateral hiring spree with the addition of a partner apiece in its corporate and real estate practices.

Alistair Bird will join the corporate practice from Simmons & Simmons on 1 October, with Ashurst real estate partner Gary Watson set to join the firm a month later.

Their appointments follow that of corporate rainmaker William Charnley, as first revealed on www.thelawyer. com (10 September), who joins from McDermott Will & Emery at the beginning of October.

Mayer Brown London managing partner Sean Connolly said: “We laid out an ambitious growth strategy for the London office earlier in the year and have spent recent months focusing on additions to key practices that really influence our ability to deliver an aggressive business plan.”

Bird, who has been a partner at Simmons for more than 20 years, will focus on private equity, hedge funds and investment banking, working alongside corporate head Peter Dickinson.

Watson, who has almost three decades of real estate experience, will lead Mayer Brown’s property company team and will also be involved in managing the global real estate group.