Locke Lord has promoted James Channo, a member of the firmwide executive committee, as managing partner of its London office. Channo, who has practised in the London legal market for two decades, is the leader of the firm’s corporate practice group in London and is co-chair of Locke Lord’s international transactions practice group. He takes over day-to-day operations of the London office from Michael Collins, who has been managing partner since 2015. Mr Collins, who relocated to London on a temporary basis, will continue his litigation practice from the Firm’s Dallas office, where he has spent his entire career.

Entrepreneurial

'James is well known and respected in the London legal market. He has been with Locke Lord for a number of years and understands the firm’s strategic objectives and ambitions, which makes him an ideal choice to continue building our presence and growing our office in London,' said Locke Lord chair David Taylor. 'We are deeply appreciative of Mike’s leadership and enduring commitment to this firm when he answered the call to temporarily relocate to London to help with collaboration, recruitment and cohesiveness. We are confident James’ entrepreneurial spirit and energy will be integral to building upon the great momentum that Mike has established in our London office.'

Lateral hires

Mr Channo and Mr Collins have been involved in a number of key lateral hires in the firm’s London office during the past year, including the additions of three partners in the span of less than one month. Andrew Shindler joined from KWM Europe as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice group. Sean Donovan-Smith, an experienced funds formation and regulatory advisory lawyer, joined from K&L Gates as a partner in the investment adviser and alternative funds practice group, and Ben Henry, a well-known data centre lawyer, joined as a partner in the real estate and finance practice group from Bird & Bird. Earlier in the year, the firm added corporate lawyer Sean Page as a partner. He joined from Pinsent Masons.