Simpson Thacher promotes two in London

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has made up two corporate finance lawyers in London in its latest round of partnership promotions.

London lawyers Ian Barratt and Sinead O'Shea are two of five lawyers to be promoted globally. Barratt will remain in the London office while O'Shea will be relocating to Hong Kong.

Simpson Thacher London-based partner Tony Keal said: "Many of our clients are very active in Asia. For example, Blackstone, First Reserve and Silver Lake have all been very active. It's important for us to respond to this client demand."

In New York Joshua Levine and Nancy Mehlman have been promoted in the litigation and tax departments respectively. Corporate lawyer Shaolin Luo has been promoted in Beijing.

The news comes after Mayer Brown responded to the economic slump by making up just two new partners in London, in contrast to the 10 promoted last year (26 November).

Weil Gotshal & Manges has promoted one in London out of a total of seven worldwide (26 November).