Akin Gump has hired Addleshaw Goddard litigation partner Kambiz Larizadeh, who becomes the fourth disputes partner to leave the UK firm this year.
His exit follows the departure of Addleshaws partner Mark Hastings who exited for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan earlier this month.
Other litigation exits from Addleshaws include Mark Pring who moved to Reed Smith in July and Sonia Campbell who moved to Mishcon de Reya in February.
Larizadeh’s biggest cases include acting for Roman Abramovich in his multibillion-pound dispute over oil business Sibneft and representing a major Bahraini investment bank in a $1bn High Court conspiracy action.
An Akin Gump spokesperson said: “Akin Gump is delighted that Kambiz is joining the firm. His experience across a wide range of high value, cross-border commercial litigation and international arbitration matters will integrate extremely well with our practice in London and internationally.”
He joined Addleshaws in 2013 from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom where he was counsel. Prior to that he was a senior associate at Weil Gotshal & Manges and a barrister at 5 Pump Court Chambers.
Addleshaws has seen a significant amount of change in the last 12 months. Most recently it voted through a merger with HBJ in Scotland, which had previously been a part of Gateley. The takeover added around £21m to Addleshaws’ top line plus three offices in Scotland.
Managing partner John Joyce also significantly tightened the rules around partner exits this year, adapting the partnership deeds to implement a ‘bad leaver’ provision, meaning no more than seven equity partners can leave without board consent in one financial year.
The post Addleshaws disputes exits mount as Akin Gump poaches litigation partner appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.