Top 30 UK firm Osborne Clarke has named real estate transactions lawyer Conrad Davies as its new UK managing partner, replacing Ray Berg who will complete his eight-year term at the end of December.

Davies, who has been with the firm for more than 17 years, will assume the role at the start of January. Davies has been a partner since 2011 and is currently international head of the firm’s urban dynamics group. He also helped Osborne Clarke establish its real estate practice, heading up its international real estate and infrastructure sector offering for seven years. Most recently he led the team that established the firm’s 2025 client strategy.

Peter Clough, who succeeded Andrew Saul at the start of the year as senior partner, said: “It’s been an incredible eight years under Ray’s leadership. He’s shown outstanding dedication and commitment to building the firm into what it is today. [Davies] has also been one of our firm’s great leaders and has been instrumental in helping to build our strategy.”

Prior to joining Osborne Clarke, Davies was an associate at Jones Day. He also spent five years working in the corporate sector. 

Davies said that following in Berg’s footsteps means he has “big shoes to fill” but he is ready for the challenge and to build on Berg’s success over the next four years.

Corporate partner Berg has been with Osborne Clarke since 2001 when he joined from Allen & Overy. He was previously head of Osborne Clarke’s business transactions group, continuing to work with clients on M&A deals during his tenure as managing partner. His practice focuses on a variety of transactions work including cross-border M&A, demergers, private equity issues and joint ventures, with a particular focus on the digital business sector.

Osborne Clarke saw firm-wide revenue jump 19% to £407m in the 2021/22 financial year, driven by a global surge in M&A activity. UK profit-per-equity partner also rose 11% to £796k.

The firm has made a string of lateral hires in the UK since the start of the year, among them a trio of energy and infrastructure partners in London in March from Orrick that included sector veteran John Deacon. And  in May the firm added a five-strong pensions team from BDB Pitmans led by partners David Hosford and Chris Netiatis that took its pensions lawyer headcount to 20.