Sullivan & Cromwell's London build-out rolls on with senior finance hire

Sullivan & Cromwell has continued its closely watched London expansion with the hire of senior finance lawyer Patrick Clancy, adding further depth to its growing financial services bench in the City.

Clancy joins as a counsel. He was a long-time partner at Shearman & Sterling and is understood to be joining from A&O Shearman’s Peerpoint legal consulting division.

He worked closely for many years with Barney Reynolds, the former Shearman partner who joined S&C last year from newly-merged A&O Shearman in a high-profile move that effectively fired the starting gun on the elite New Yorker’s London build-out.

Clancy is a derivatives and structured products specialist with more than 25 years’ experience advising financial institutions, funds and corporates.

His practice spans derivatives alongside a broader mix of structured finance work, including securitisations, repackagings and CLOs, as well as related financing and trading documentation.

Reynolds described Clancy as “one of the leading experts in his field”, particularly on structured finance transactions, while S&C said his arrival would strengthen its ability to advise on the structuring, regulation and deployment of capital in complex financial deals.

London momentum

The hire is the latest step in what has become one of the most closely followed US firm build-outs in the London market.

Momentum picked up sharply in September when S&C followed Reynolds’ hire with the addition of Kirkland partner Kon Asimacopoulos and Mike Francies, formerly Weil’s long-time London managing partner. The firm then doubled down in December with two further lateral hires from Kirkland.