Freshfields doubles down on US in record partner promotions round

Freshfields has announced its largest-ever partner promotions round, making up 43 new partners globally, alongside four recently promoted, with 11 in London and 13 across its US offices.

It’s a significant level up from last year’s 25 partner promotions, which saw nine new appointments in London and just two in the US and follows a recent shake-up of the firm’s partnership model which saw it roll out a non-equity tier.

The firm has been investing heavily in the US in recent years, including several new office openings - most recently launching in Boston last year. 

The new London partners are: 

• Christina Franzese - Dispute Resolution
• Oliver Aikens - Global Transactions
• Zofia Aszendorf - Global Transactions
• Piusha Bose - Global Transactions
• Lucy Cliff - Global Transactions
• Richard Daniels - Global Transactions
• Egor Marisin - Global Transactions
• Angus Scott - Global Transactions
• Christopher Yarrow - Global Transactions
• Chantelle Nicholas - People and Reward
• Samuel Withnall - Tax

US focus

The 13 US promotions include eight in New York, a market that has been a key focus for Freshfields in recent years with the firm investing heavily in top tier talent from the likes of Cleary and Cravath. That investment is showing up in deal flow, with Freshfields advising on a number of major New York-led M&A transactions over the past year.

The scale of the US promotions also stands out against UK rivals. Linklaters promoted just four partners in the US this year, while A&O Shearman - which has the largest US footprint of the Magic Circle following its 2024 merger - also made up four.