International platform introduces 54 lawyers to its 2022 Partner class on a global scale
Global Law Firm Announces Promotions of 54 Lawyers
In a significant move towards gender diversity, the international law firm Baker McKenzie has announced the promotion of 54 lawyers to partner and director roles, effective January 1, 2022. Among these promotions, 23 lawyers are women, representing 43 percent of the total.
The promotions span 11 practice areas, with the litigation and disputes practice area leading with 18 lawyers. The corporate, M&A and securities practice area follows closely with 10 promotions, while the banking and finance practice area has 9. The remaining practice areas include intellectual property, employment and labor, tax, real estate, projects, antitrust and competition, bankruptcy, financial restructuring and insolvency, and information governance, privacy and cybersecurity, each with fewer than 5 promotions.
Notable promotions include Marianne McMahon, who was promoted to the general counsel position in London, and Anna Rudawski, who was promoted to the information governance, privacy and cybersecurity practice area in New York. In the same vein, Victoria Corder was promoted to the litigation and disputes practice area in New York, Eric Green to the intellectual property practice area in Austin, Helen Fairhead to the antitrust and competition practice area in London, and Geraldine Young to the litigation and disputes practice area in Houston.
In Canada, Robin Acworth, Veronique Barry, Scott Boucher, Brian Chau, Matthew Choi, Jenna Anne de Jong, Russell Dufault, Alison FitzGerald, Caroline Jodoin, Jonathan Lafrance, Brigitte LeBlanc-Lapointe, Jennifer McPherson, Brian Milne, Fahad Siddiqui, Joshua Sprague, Nikita Stepin, Tim Stewart, Rachel Chan in Hong Kong, Rebecca Abou-Chedid in Washington, D.C., Nathan Baum and Blake Redwine in Dallas, James Lockwood in London, Dimitri Millas in Houston, In Australia, Kate Green, Harriet Oldmeadow, and Nick Sinclair were promoted.
Gerry Pecht, Global Chief Executive of Baker McKenzie, praised the promoted lawyers for their industry knowledge, business acumen, and innovative solutions. The firm's commitment to gender diversity is evident in its target for partnership and leadership roles of 40% women, 40% men, and 20% flexible (including women, men, or non-binary persons) by 2025. This target is ambitious and includes recognition of non-binary individuals under the "flexible" 20%, promoting broader gender diversity beyond the traditional binary framework.
In South Africa, lawyers receive promotions to director instead of partner. Notable promotions include Paul Cartwright to the litigation and disputes practice area in Johannesburg, Veit Sahlfeld to the banking and finance practice area in Hamburg, Laura Kiwelu to the projects practice area in London, Rebecca Winthrop to the bankruptcy, financial restructuring and insolvency practice area in Los Angeles, Daniel Ng to the litigation and disputes practice area in Hong Kong, Rafe Schaefer to the litigation and disputes practice area in Houston, and Zayba Drabu to the litigation and disputes practice area in London.
Other notable promotions include Annabelle Wheeler to the litigation and disputes practice area in Munich/London, Claudia Posluschny to the employment and labor practice area in Munich, Louisa Roe to the real estate practice area in London, Jared Kaplan to the corporate, M&A and securities practice area in New York, Nicolas Sirtoli to the corporate, M&A and securities practice area in London, Matthew Buckle to the litigation and disputes practice area in London, Darren Smith to the intellectual property practice area in Houston, and Kimberly Cheeseman to the employment and labor practice area in Houston.
[1] Baker McKenzie's gender diversity target: https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/about/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-law [2] Magic Circle firms' gender diversity targets: https://www.thelawyer.com/freshfields-and-clifford-chance-set-40-women-targets-194654 [3] Kennedys' gender diversity target: https://www.kennedyslaw.com/en/news/kennedys-announces-new-gender-diversity-targets/
In light of Baker McKenzie's commitment to gender diversity, several lawyers in various practice areas were promoted, such as Alex Johnson in the banking and finance practice area, demonstrating the firm's focus on promoting individuals with strong finance backgrounds and business acumen. Furthermore, the career advancement of Carol Lee in the corporate, M&A and securities practice area signifies the emphasis on diverse careers within the business sector.
