Gibson Dunn announces largest-ever promotions round in London

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has announced its largest-ever round of London promotions, with two made up in the City.

The firm has promoted finance lawyer Amy Kennedy, who started off her legal career at fellow US firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Kennedy worked as an associate in the firm’s banking and finance team for three years, before moving to Weil Gotshal & Manges in 2012. She has been a lawyer at Gibson Dunn for over two years.

Antitrust lawyer Deirdre Taylor has also made the cut in London, having joined the firm in 2013. Prior to this, she worked as an assistant director in the Office of Fair Trading’s cartels and criminal enforcement group for five years. Taylor started her legal career at WilmerHale.

The appointments double the number of female partners in Gibson Dunn’s London office. Out of the firm’s current partnership, two out of 28 members are female (dispute resolution lawyers Penny Madden and Osma Hudda).

Corporate lawyer Selina Sagayam serves as the firm’s head of UK transactional practice development, but is no longer listed as a partner at the firm. Gibson Dunn also announced it was hiring Herbert Smith Freehills energy partner Anna Howell in June, but she has not yet joined the firm.

This is the highest number of London promotions for Gibson Dunn, instead promoting one lawyer in 2016, 2012, 2011 and 2007.

The majority of the global promotions were in the US, with 13 lawyers made up in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. One partner was announced in Dubai.

There were no Continental European promotions, despite a swathe of hires across Paris and Germany. Gibson Dunn hired a four-partner team from Ashurst’s Paris office in June and launched in Frankfurt in 2016 after hiring a duo from Latham & Watkins.