Bird & Bird has elevated 19 lawyers to its partnership in the firm’s latest global promotions round, a small increase on the 17 that made the grade in 2025.
Women made up 26% of this year’s cohort, a slightly lower proportion than in 2025 when women made up 29% of new partners, although the overall number is the same with five. The promotions are effective from 1 May.
The firm’s employment and intellectual property practices saw the most promotions with four each, followed by three in commercial, finance and financial regulation and corporate, and two in dispute resolution.
Christian Bartsch, Bird & Bird’s CEO, said: “These promotions celebrate the incredible talent and dedication of our people, who are at the heart of everything we do. As our clients navigate rapid change, it’s our people who lead the conversations that matter. Investing in their growth is central to our strategy and our vision of building a next-generation law firm that is globally connected and ready for the next stage of growth.”
London saw the biggest share of promotions with six being made up to partner. They included IP lawyers Pieter Erasmus, Robert Milligan and Tristan Sherliker, commercial lawyer Sam Beer, employment lawyer Yuichi Sekine and finance and financial regulation lawyer Hannah Moran-Ellis.
There were two promotions apiece in Paris and Frankfurt, with the rest spread across nine offices around the world, including Singapore, Copenhagen, Prague, Madrid, Munich, Milan, Rome, the Hague and Beijing.
The firm also promoted three women to senior counsel – employment lawyers Annemarieke van Vlodrop in the Hague and Daniela Gudat in Frankfurt, and IP specialist Nina Dorenbosch, also in the Hague. In addition, it promoted 20 to counsel and five to legal director.
Graeme Maguire, chair of Bird & Bird’s board, said: “This global promotion round is a powerful reflection of the culture we continue to build at our firm – one that values collaboration, inclusivity and the growth of our people. That commitment to nurturing talent, combined with a shared sense of purpose across our global firm, is what underpins our culture and will continue to define our success in the years ahead.”
The full list of partner promotions:
Anne-Laure Rastoul – Employment, Paris
Audrey Lim – Intellectual Property, Singapore
Cecilie Hald – Commercial, Copenhagen
Filip Hron – Employment, Prague
Hannah Moran-Ellis – Finance & Financial Regulation, London
Jonas Baier – Dispute Resolution, Frankfurt
Jorge Sanz – Employment, Madrid
Jürgen Schlinkmann – Finance & Financial Regulation (Real Estate), Munich
Matteo Meroni – Corporate, Milan
Michele Arruzzolo – Finance & Financial Regulation, Rome
Olav Klaver – Corporate, The Hague
Oliver Belitz – Commercial, Frankfurt
Pieter Erasmus – Intellectual Property, London
Robert Milligan – Intellectual Property, London
Sam Beer – Commercial, London
Tristan Sherliker – Intellectual Property, London
Xavier Philipps – Dispute Resolution, Paris
Xiao Wang – Corporate, Beijing
Yuichi Sekine – Employment, London
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