DLA Piper labels top corporate lawyer

DLA Piper labels top corporate lawyer

On 1st May Jon Hayes will take over from Andrew Darwin

In place of Andrew Darwin as the next senior partner for the DLA Piper international partnership will be London corporate lawyer Jon Hayes.

After completing his four-year term in office, Hayes will replace Darwin on 1st May. Practicing primarily in the fields of public and private M&A, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, complex group reorganizations, equity capital markets and corporate finance, Hayes has extensive experience in public and private M&A.

He has joined Linklaters in 1991 as a trainee and worked his way up to become a partner. Hayes moved to DLA Piper in 2009 from Linklaters. A stint at King's College London was his previous experience in teaching law.

DLA Piper has helped manage the acquisition of LM Wind Power by GE Renewable Energy for €1.5bn; the restructuring of Alitalia by Etihad Airways for €1.8bn; and the acquisition of EDF's UK electricity networks businesses by Cheung Kong Infrastructure, Hongkong Power and the Li Ka Shing Foundation for £5.8bn.

In accepting the position as senior partner, Hayes said he is "honoured to be elected" and will use his influence to ensure that DLA Piper remains a leader in innovation so that it continues to provide exceptional services to its clients, and that it is an organization in which all of its people can excel.

He serves as lead sponsor for DLA Piper's LGBT+ network, Iris, and has served on its international board of directors. Additionally, he sits on the advisory board of the firm's pro bono affiliate, New Perimeter, as well as the firm's diversity and inclusion council.

The firm's co-chairman, who stepped down after four years as partner, said: "I've been immensely proud of what we've accomplished over the past four years, and I'm confident that Jon is well suited for the role in May." Darwin continued that Hayes has both "the gravitas and experience" to help further build the firm's business and represent the firm well."

The international arm of DLA Piper published its financial results last August, revealing that it had recorded a 7.8percent jump in profit per equity partner to £914.8k for 2020/21, despite seeing revenue decline 1.6percent to £1,055bn. The firm announced in the same month it had committed to a larger space in Dublin as it aimed to ramp up its presence in Ireland, with the new 30,000 square foot space providing plenty of space for expanding its more than 75-strong Dublin team.

In January, White & Case brought a six-person team to its corporate, financing, litigation and tax practice in Mexico City. One of the new additions was named office co-manager, Alvaro Garza-Galvan.

Earlier this week, the firm, which had pulled out of Ukraine last June after its Kyiv office was acquired by CEE firm Kinstellar, said it has been "fully compliant with all sanctions worldwide" and is 'urgently reviewing all Russia-related client engagements' in light of the country's invasion of the country.