Norton Rose Fulbright has hired Sidley Austin’s entire US public finance team across three offices in New York, Washington DC and San Francisco.
The firm has taken 17 lawyers from Sidley including six partners.
The move sees Norton Rose Fulbright open in Northern California for the first time, taking seven lawyers including three partners from Sidley in San Francisco.
It has also hired eight lawyers including two partners from Sidley’s New York practice and two lawyers, one of which is a partner, from its Washington DC base.
The partners are: Larry Bauer and Matt Hughey in New York; Peter Canzano in Washington DC; and Jerry McGovern, Eric Tashman and Cliff Gerber in San Francisco.
The team is led by McGovern, who has been a partner at Sidley for 32 years, and Larry Bauer, who leaves his post as Sidley’s co-head of public finance.
Senior counsel Michael Burke, Patti Wu and Mark Norell will join the New York office, along with of counsel Homer Schaaf and Frank Robinson and counsel Jinelle Craig. Senior counsel Eric Hebert will be located in Washington DC. Senior counsel Dave Sanchez and Michele Dulik will be based in San Francisco, along with senior associate Mary Kimura and associate Preston Swapp.
The hire significantly boosts Norton Rose Fulbright’s US finance practice, increasing headcount by around 50 per cent. Norton Rose Fulbright US finance boss Bob Dransfield said the jump “makes us even better positioned to give coast-to-coast coverage across the US.”
He added the team’s experience in securitisations, healthcare finance and municipal restructuring would enhance the firm’s public finance capability.
The San Francisco office is Norton Rose Fulbright’s twelfth in the US and 53rd worldwide. It already has an office in Los Angeles.
Norton Rose Fulbright US managing partner Linda Addison said: “We have wanted to expand our firm’s West Coast presence for some time, and San Francisco is the ideal location for our strategic growth.
“These accomplished partners give us a solid foundation in San Francisco, as they possess strong connections to the city’s business leaders.”
Norton Rose Fulbright has been pushing for greater efficiency in recent months, revealing in May it would axe 170 global business services roles in favour of opening a back office function in Manila.
Departures from Sidley Austin are relatively rare and over the past two years the US firm has been recruiting heavily across the US in litigation, private equity as well as media and entertainment.
This year it launched a private equity practice in London with a team of six partners and a number of associates from Kirkland & Ellis. More recently, it hired leveraged finance partner James Crooks from Willkie Farr & Gallagher.