A&O Shearman has made up 33 lawyers to partner in its first promotions round since the merger that created the firm last year. 

The promotions, effective 1 May 2025, have been made across 11 of the firm’s practice areas in 16 different offices. They follow the firm cutting 10% of its roughly 800-strong partnership since last September, a move the firm said would enable it to focus on promoting and recruiting partners in growth areas.

Last year, it emerged that the firm was moving to an all-equity partnership and adopting a three-level modified lockstep system for partner compensation as part of its post-merger integration process. 

Regionally, there were 14 promotions across continental Europe, including four apiece in France and Germany and two in Luxembourg, where the firm saw a pair of funds partners exit for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett late last year for that firm’s debut in the city. 

There were also nine promotions at the firm’s London headquarters, among them a trio of M&A lawyers and debt finance specialists Temilope Esho, James Green and Xin Ni Lim, alongside four in the US across New York, Washington DC and Dallas and four in Asia Pacific. The final two promotions went to projects duo Mike Campbell and Richard Chamberlain in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure (ENRI) practice in Dubai. 

By practice area, the firm’s more than 600-lawyer M&A practice gained the most partners globally, with 10, followed by ENRI with five. Meantime, debt finance, litigation and investigations and real estate had three promotions each, while funds and asset management, global financial markets and tax had two apiece. There was also one promotion each in the markets innovation group and restructuring and asset finance practices. 

Firm senior partner Khalid Garousha said: “It is immensely gratifying to promote from within and recognise the hard work and dedication of our new partners. Their talent will be instrumental in helping us deliver solutions to the complex challenges our clients face. I look forward to seeing the impact they will make as we continue to strengthen our capabilities and shape the future of our firm.”

The round includes 14 women, 42% of the total.