Broadfield has hired a pair of former practice leaders at Sidley Austin and Kirkland & Ellis alongside five more lawyers across Hong Kong and London, as the Alvarez & Marsal-linked firm makes good on its aim to build an international network of law firms.
Partner Gordon Davidson, who left Sidley in March having established and led its Asia restructuring practice, has joined Broadfield as head of restructuring and insolvency for Asia and a member of the firm’s executive committee.
Three former Sidley restructuring associates have joined alongside him, including Dylan Rogers, who has been made partner on the move, with the team rounded out by London hire Will Swan, a counsel from Baker McKenzie who is also focused on distressed finance and special situations. Swan will relocate to the firm's Hong Kong office.
The group has advised debtors, creditors and investors on major matters, including the restructuring of $19bn in offshore debt of troubled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande in 2023.
Meanwhile, partner Fergus Saurin, former head of Kirkland’s dispute resolution practice in Asia, has joined in Hong Kong as head of dispute resolution and investigations for Broadfield Asia.
In London, the firm has also brought on infrastructure and planning partner Mike Dempsey, who was previously a legal director at Addleshaw Goddard.
The hires follow Broadfield launching its Hong Kong operations earlier this year under Effie Vasilopoulos, former head of Sidley’s APAC investment funds group.
Vasilopoulos, now managing partner of Broadfield in APAC, said the hires reflected the firm’s “focus on solving complex, high-value challenges for our regional and global clients”.
“Our teams are built to navigate the full lifecycle of complex private capital and commercial matters, from front-end investment fund structuring and special situations through restructuring, dispute resolution, litigation and enforcement,” she added.
With the latest hires Broadfield will have six partners and seven further lawyers in Hong Kong, all of whom except Saurin and Swan were previously at Sidley.
Broadfield was created a year ago when the legal services arm of US consultancy Alvarez & Marsal – best known for handling the winding-down of Lehman Brothers – formed an agreement with UK law firm BDB Pitmans to build an international law firm servicing mid-market private capital and corporate clients.
As part of the deal, 420-strong BDB Pitmans, which had been in merger talks with Womble Bond Dickinson, rebranded as Broadfield UK.
The firm marked its first international expansion earlier this year when it hired Vasilopoulos from Sidley alongside a pair of counsel to launch in Hong Kong, with the office operating in association with newly-launched firm Liu Patrick Ling & Co.
Under the Broadfield structure, member firms retain their own governance and P&L while adopting the Broadfield branding. Alvarez & Marsal Legal Services provides them with management services, including technology and back-office services, and “assists in procuring investment capital for growth”.
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