Linklaters has made a splash in New York, hiring a quartet of senior finance partners from A&O Shearman, including a global co-head of A&O Shearman’s financial markets practice, David Lucking. 

Lucking has joined the firm alongside John Hwang, Derek Poon and Dan Guyder. Linklaters said the group will enhance its “derivatives, securitisation and restructuring strength” in the US and globally. 

All four were partners at legacy Allen & Overy (A&O), which merged with New York firm Shearman & Sterling at the start of May to form 800-partner A&O Shearman. Hwang had also been a former member of the US executive committee and the global equity committee at legacy A&O. 

Their hire follows Linklaters recruiting a six-lawyer M&A team in New York from legacy Shearman at the start of this year led by rainmaker George Casey, in a move the firm hailed as a “transformational step” in its US growth strategy.   

Aedamar Comiskey, Linklaters’ senior partner and chair, commented: “Building out a top talent team in the US as part of our global offering is a key priority for us. The addition to our finance team of David, John, Derek and Dan will enhance our ability to deliver an excellent, integrated service to our clients in the US and all core markets.”

Lucking brings expertise in derivatives and structured finance transactions, as well as the regulatory framework that underpins the US derivatives market. An A&O lifer, he had been one of five partners from the firm in the running to be crowned managing partner of A&O Shearman, a role that eventually went to Paris-based partner Hervé Ekué. 

Meantime Hwang and Poon, who led US asset finance and securitisation practice at A&O Shearman, specialise in structures and asset classes ranging from traditional consumer and commercial asset securitisations to esoteric digital infrastructure, renewables and aviation financings, while Guyder’s practice focuses on out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy cases and cross-border insolvency proceedings throughout the US. 

Linklaters has made a series of partner hires in the US over the past two years across practices including energy and arbitration as well as finance, restructuring and M&A as part of its strategy to grow in the region. 

In September the firm brought in Michael Torkin in New York as head of US capital solutions and special situations from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, with Joseph Profaizer joining as global co-chair of international arbitration from Paul Hastings in Washington DC the following month. Including the team from A&O Shearman, the firm now has nearly 50 partners across its two US offices, according to its website. 

Linklaters, which phased out its pure lockstep partner pay model in 2021 to enable it to better compete with the outsized pay offered by its US rivals, pointed to the impact of its stateside hires, who have brought in landmark mandates including advising Rio Tinto on its $6.7bn acquisition of Arcadium Lithium and advising Volkswagen on its up to $5bn joint venture and investment transactions with Rivian.

A spokesperson for A&O Shearman commented: “We thank David, Derek, John and Daniel for the contribution they have made to the firm and wish them all the best for the future.”

Lucking had served as co-head of financial markets at the firm alongside New York-based partner Donna Parisi and partner Anzel Mohammed, who works out of Dubai. Parisi and Mohammed will lead the practice going forward, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. 

In September, A&O Shearman said it would cut around 10% of its partners and also shutter its office in Johannesburg and its consulting arm as part of its programme of post-merger integration.