IT boutique Kemp Little has lost name partner Jonathan Little to Simmons & Simmons. Kemp Little will retain the name that it has had since Kemp & Co became Kemp Little in 2001.
“It’s not a storming off in anger thing. I wish the firm all the best and I’d be very flattered if they kept the name,” said Little.
Little will team up with partners David Barrett, Michael Sinclair and Peter Brudenall in Simmons’ IT and outsourcing team. Kemp Little is left with 10 partners and 22 lawyers in total.
Little said he was keen to work again at an international firm. Before Kemp & Co, he worked at Bird & Bird, Baker & McKenzie and Linklaters.
Kemp Little founding partner Richard Kemp said: “Jon’s made a huge contribution to the practice. We’re confident that there won’t be any client departures. We’ve spoken to them all. The Simmons business model is very different to ours. We don’t compete with Simmons.”
Little’s clients include US services giant EDS, Simpay and Standard Chartered Bank.
Barrett said: “We’ve been planning to significantly expand our IT and outsourcing practice and this is the first step. Jonathan’s very competent and has a very substantial practice.
“In terms of technology and outsourcing work, the institutions are pretty large and therefore they tend to have a particular pricing model that applies. I don’t think that the Simmons and Kemp Little pricing models are particularly dissimilar.”
