K&L Gates has promoted 25 lawyers to partner in its latest promotions round as rival Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld makes up 13.  

The rounds at both firms are unsurprisingly dominated by lawyers in the US, with a small number in the firms’ London, Middle East and Asia offices.  

Like last year women made up more than half of Akin’s cohort, with seven included this time round (54%), down from nine in 2022’s 15-strong cohort (60%).  

Meantime K&L Gates round was notably smaller than last year, when the firm promoted 40 to partner. The latest cohort included nine women – 36% of the total, again a decrease from 2022, when women made up 43% of the group.  

Akin’s round included four promotions in New York and three in its Washington DC headquarters, where the firm strengthened its international trade team last summer with the hire of a trio of partners from Hughes Hubbard. The US promotions are rounded out with three in Texas – two in Houston and one in Dallas.  

Outside the US, in London the firm promoted Emma Butler in the financial restructuring team and Simon Ellis in the investment management practice, with the final promotion going to Lauren Talerman, who advises on export controls, sanctions, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, in Dubai. 

In terms of practice area, the firm’s corporate team gained the most promotions, with three, followed by tax, financial restructuring and international trade, which had two apiece. The remaining four promotions were spread between investment management, IP, litigation and lobbying and public policy. 

“Each of these new partners demonstrates excellence, outstanding judgement and a client-first approach,” said Akin chairperson, Kim Koopersmith. “They are all strong additions to our market-leading practices. I am proud to have them join the partnership and look forward to their continued success.”

Looking to K&L Gates, in the US the firm’s Seattle and Charlotte offices saw the most promotions with three each. There were two promotions in the firm’s Pittsburgh headquarters, where early last year it reeled in a seven-strong private equity team from Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, as well as two in Nashville, Chicago, Boston and Washington DC. The remaining five promotions in the US were spread across Miami, San Francisco, Newark, Los Angeles and Harrisburg.  

Outside the US the firm promoted two lawyers in London – trademark specialist Simon Casinader and Craig Fraser, who advises on corporate transactions including private and public M&A, restructuring and equity capital markets. There was also one promotion in Tokyo and another in Beijing.  

Lawyers working across K&L Gates’ IP, litigation and commercial disputes practices featured heavily in the round, with the firm’s corporate and finance teams also receiving several promotions each. The rest of the promotions were spread across diverse practice areas including energy, employment, construction, healthcare, tax and white collar defence and investigations.  

K&L Gates global managing partner, Jim Segerdahl, said: “We are thrilled to welcome such an accomplished and high-quality group to their new positions with our firm. We congratulate these individuals on their election to the firm’s partnership and look forward to the service they will continue to provide to our clients across their respective practice areas.”