Cravath has promoted London finance and capital markets lawyer Lawrence Verhelst as part of an 11-strong global round.
The promotion takes Cravath’s London partnership to eight, after no City lawyers were made up last year.
Cravath has promoted one lawyer to partner in London as part of an 11-strong global round.
Lawrence Verhelst, a member of the firm’s corporate department, will join the elite New York firm's partnership on 1 January. He focuses on finance and capital markets matters and has been with Cravath since 2014.
His recent work includes advising the European Investment Bank on several notes offerings. The promotion takes Cravath’s London partnership to eight.
Cravath opened in London in 1973 but for decades advised only on US law. That changed in 2023 when the firm launched an English law practice with the hires of Korey Fevzi and Philip Stopford from legacy Shearman & Sterling.
No London lawyers were promoted last year, while two made partner in 2024. The firm has just three offices globally - New York, Washington DC and London.
More movement at Cravath
The promotion comes as Cravath becomes more active in the lateral market.
In September, it hired a group of Weil partners led by corporate chair and rainmaker Mike Aiello, a move that helped trigger a wider wave of departures from Weil before the firm ultimately moved to wind down last week.
Cravath has traditionally been one of Wall Street’s most selective lateral recruiters, but like other elite US firms it has been under pressure to compete harder for top partners.
That shift has come alongside the wider breakdown of traditional lockstep pay. Cravath was one of the last major US firms to move away from the model, under which partner compensation is largely determined by seniority.
Cravath’s average profit per partner rose to $7.2 million last year, according to The American Lawyer.
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