Normally, when I think about writing the editorial for Mishcon & the World, I do that worldly thing of looking outwards. For this edition, I thought I'd turn the lens inward - to share news of developments at Mishcon - our recent Partner hires and internal Partner promotions, and our handing over of power from managing partner to managing partner and in other leadership roles in the firm.
We promoted 14 of our colleagues to Partner, and 16 to Legal Director - across the full breadth of our practice: disputes, employment, real estate, private, corporate and innovation. Fee earners and knowledge lawyers alike. It is a reminder that the strength of a modern law firm depends as much on those who develop and share expertise as on those who deploy it in front of clients.
And as well as our internal promotions, we have in the past few weeks alone brought in eight new partners from outside of the firm: four in our new Dubai office, in disputes and in corporate, and in London in employment and three in our innovation department. This growth reflects an optimism for the future of our firm, and the strengthening of areas which are obviously essential for growth: the UAE is clearly a key player in the world, as are intellectual property and technology and all that goes with that.
This month, James Libson will step down as managing partner, a role he has held since the early days of the Covid pandemic, to return to being a fee earning lawyer, helping to develop our public law practice and as Senior Partner (and, by the happiest of coincidences, as co-grandfather with me to our grandson, after my daughter married his son!). And in his place, Daniel Naftalin, previously head of employment, takes over the role, replaced in turn by Susannah Kintish. In our private department, Nick Davis has stepped down after many years of service, replaced by the next generation of talent, in Victoria Pigott - exactly the next generation of talent the firm needs. How smoothly a firm moves forward is one of those challenges every partnership must confront; we are all very confident that in our new leadership teams, the firm is in excellent hands.
The rest of this edition does what Mishcon & the World always does - it looks outward: at the ideas, to developments and the people shaping the world our clients operate in. I hope you enjoy reading it.