A&O Shearman promotes nine in London as global round holds steady

A&O Shearman has promoted nine lawyers to partner in London as part of a 33-strong global round, unchanged from last year as the firm settles into life post-merger.

The latest cohort spans 14 countries and 18 offices, but the overall number remains below pre-merger levels. In 2024, the legacy firms promoted a combined 40 partners, while Allen & Overy alone made up more partners in 2022 and 2023.

London promotions

The London intake mirrors last year’s total, with promotions across finance, M&A and disputes.

The nine new London partners are:

• James Ashcroft - Debt Finance
• Gordon Bartlett - Employment Litigation
• Josh Baxter - M&A
• Nicholas Gomes - Litigation and Investigations
• Poppy Latham - Global Financial Markets
• Tim Monahan - Global Financial Markets
• Jack Prettejohn - Financial Services Regulatory
• Bhishaan Shah - M&A
• Daniel Smith - Global Financial Markets

M&A saw the highest number of promotions globally, followed by global financial markets and competition, reflecting the firm’s continued focus on transactional work.

The steady size of the partner round points to a more measured approach following the A&O-Shearman merger in 2024. In the aftermath of the combination, the firm carried out a restructuring that saw around 10% of equity partners cut as it moved to a single all-equity partnership model.