London law firm Howard Kennedy has bolstered its disputes offering with a hire apiece from Mishcon de Reya and Paul Hastings. 

Contentious insolvency lawyer Crispin Daly and international arbitration specialist Heidrun Walsh have joined the firm’s commercial disputes department as partners from Paul Hastings and Mishcon respectively. 

Daly specialises in complex domestic and cross-border insolvency and related litigation, and has managed clients across all elements of contentious and non-contentious insolvency issues.  

He was most recently a senior associate at Paul Hastings, which he joined in 2020 after eight years at Proskauer Rose. Before that the former Scots Guard officer had a brief stint at legacy Dewey & LeBoeuf, having trained and qualified at Orrick. 

Meantime Walsh provides legal counsel and representation in international arbitrations across all significant arbitral institutions, including ICSID, LCIA, ICC, VIAC and ad hoc arbitrations. She has experience in oil and gas, telecommunications, shareholders and investment arbitration disputes, and has joined Howard Kennedy having been a managing associate at Mischon. She joined that firm a decade ago after a stint at Baker McKenzie and before that practised at WilmerHale. 

At Howard Kennedy, Walsh will work with the head of international arbitration, partner Duncan Bagshaw, and partner Arish Barucha to enhance its arbitration offering. The firm said Walsh, who speaks English, German and Spanish, would expand its European presence. 

Walsh said Howard Kennedy’s reputation and impact in the international arbitration market had “grown significantly in the last few years”, adding: “I look forward to working with Duncan and the team to build on that reputation and develop our offering across Europe and beyond.”

Craig Emden, the firm’s managing partner, welcomed the duo, saying Walsh’s expertise would “significantly enhance” its international arbitration capabilities.  

He added: “Crispin’s experience in insolvency matters arrives at a critical time, aligning with current trends, particularly in the retail sector, and adding substantial value to our insolvency practice.”

Daly and Walsh are the sixth and seventh new partners to join Howard Kennedy this year. The firm said it had appointeded 28 partners since implementing its growth strategy in 2021, and now has 71 partners in total according to publicly available data tracked by Pirical. 

The duo’s hire follows real estate partner Ellis Gardner-Browne and real estate finance partner Marc Naidoo joining the firm in September from Shoosmiths and McGuireWoods respectively. 

Also last month, Emden announced that he would step down as managing partner in May next year at the end of his second four-year term. He will be succeeded by James Stewart, the firm’s head of real estate.  

Howard Kennedy has seen significant growth under Emden's leadership – revenue has grown by 45% to £74.4m, while profits have increased by more than 30% and the partnership has doubled in size. 

The firm’s partner ranks were also bolstered last year through its merger with construction law boutique Corbett & Co, which saw three partners and four more lawyers join the firm.