Pinsents hits EY for corporate team led by three M&A partners

Pinsent Masons has hired three corporate partners from EY, adding to its bench in Manchester as the Big Four firm continues to shed senior legal talent.

M&A specialists Richard Thomas, Mark Hough and Rob Warren will join Pinsents later this month, accompanied by three legal directors and a group of Manchester- and London-based associates.

Thomas previously led EY’s UK commercial, corporate and employment practice and headed its M&A law group. The trio advise on domestic and international deals with a focus on industrials, mobility and technology.

Their arrival coincides with Pinsents’ Manchester relocation to St Michael’s - a development spearheaded by football veteran Gary Neville - where it signed a 10-year lease in 2023 alongside Hill Dickinson, which will also be stationed on the site.

Bigger picture

This is not the first time Pinsents has hit the Big Four for legal talent. In June, it added a nine-strong IP team to its London office from Deloitte Legal - including Paul Garland, its global head of IP and technology and one of its most senior legal figures, and two other partners.

For EY, meanwhile, the losses continue a difficult run. It lost an 11-strong energy and projects team to Hunton Andrews Kurth at the end of last year, followed by the departure of several senior figures this year, including Monica Gogna - who took a four-lawyer team to Squires in March - and energy partners Michelle T Davies and Rob McNabb, who left for Jones Day in July.

The firm also put up to 30 legal roles at risk earlier this year in a restructuring aimed at narrowing the firm’s focus to corporate and tax litigation.

What they said

Pinsents’ UK head of corporate Ed Stead said: "We are committed to a programme of major growth investment into our UK Corporate business and this team hire is a great illustration of our ambition.

"Richard, Mark, Rob and their team have built a wealth of experience in advising FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies and large private companies on a range of M&A matters and their client focus and strategy is very consistent with our own.

"We also recognise that there will be opportunities to learn from Richard, Mark and Rob as they have developed a very strong legal practice within the broader EY business."