London gets a new US firm as Michelman Robinson opens shop

US firm Michelman Robinson is launching in London with a ten-lawyer corporate crime and investigations team, bringing on board senior lawyers from Addleshaw Goddard and Eversheds Sutherland.

Lily Dou and Polly Sprenger are joining from AG, alongside Ruth Paley from Eversheds and John Gibson from US firm Cohen & Gresser. They arrive with six associates - including three from AG - creating a multidisciplinary group with private practice and Serious Fraud Office experience.

Dou, Sprenger and Gibson all previously worked at the SFO (Sprenger was a former head of strategic intelligence) while Paley has advised on financial crime matters before the FCA.

New US player

This is Michelman’s first international office - a notable move for a relatively small firm understood to sit outside the top 200 firms in the US by revenue. With about 80 lawyers across California, Texas, Chicago and New York, according to its website, the LA-based practice is far smaller than the American heavyweights typically seen expanding in London.

Big new arrivals have been rare in recent years, although the City has seen a trickle of recent new entrants, with Seattle-based Perkins Coie opening its doors last year and startup firm Pierson Ferdinand launching with a "distributed" fee-share style model, also last year.

London managing partner Hooman Yazhari, a corporate and restructuring lawyer who joined earlier this year, will lead the office.

What they said

Yazhari said: "We’ve hand-picked a dream team with a diverse skillset and a shared ambition to build something special.

"Our London strategy centres on nimble service, sophisticated counsel, and a people-first culture that’s rare among firms of any size - qualities that will continue to attract outstanding local talent eager to be part of a dynamic and purpose-driven firm."