Simpson Thacher promotes five in London as part of bumper global round

Simpson Thacher has announced its latest partner promotions in a global bumper round of 59, with the large majority going to New York, followed by seven in Washington DC and five in London.
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The newly promoted London partners are:

• Lauren Brazier - Litigation
• James Ravden - Private Funds / Secondaries
• Claudia Upton - Litigation
• Laura Wallace - Private Funds / Regulatory
• Alex Ward - Mergers & Acquisitions

The promotions take effect on 1 January 2026.

City strategy

London remains a key hub for the New York powerhouse, and a place where it has standout private equity and funds practices. These promotions in litigation, private funds and M&A support the firm’s continued growth in areas closely tied to private capital and cross-border mandates.

London versus peers

While the global scale of the round stands out among US firms this year, Simpson Thacher promoted fewer London partners than Paul Weiss (8), White & Case (9), and Latham & Watkins (7), all of which have made slightly more assertive pushes in the City during this promotion cycle.

A growing intake

Last year, Simpson Thacher promoted 44 new partners, including seven in London, spanning private funds, antitrust, banking and real estate. That followed a 2023 round of 32 partner promotions, underscoring a steady year-on-year expansion of the partner intake.