Norton Rose adds another magic circle partner with CC ship finance hire
Clifford Chance shipping finance head Simon Lew has left the firm to join Norton Rose after 16 years as a partner at the firm.
The City partner, who led Clifford Chance’s shipping finance practice for the past five years, focuses on structured finance, leasing and restructuring within the shipping and offshore sectors as well as other asset classes.
The move marks Norton Rose’s second magic circle finance hire in London in recent months, with structured finance partner David Shearer joining from Allen & Overy earlier this year (30 April 2012).
Norton Rose shipping co-chief Simon Hartley said in a statement: “The asset finance industry has changed a huge amount in the previous few years, especially in shipping. Bank debt is clearly less available, and complex restructurings are becoming more prevalent. It’s increasingly important to make the links between transport companies and alternative sources of finance, such as private equity and capital markets.”
Clifford Chance axed its shipping litigation team in 2007, with the firm’s sole partner in the field joining Holman Fenwick & Willan (6 December 2007). It merged its shipping and insurance practices two years earlier (21 March 2005).
