Freshfields has promoted 25 lawyers to its partnership – two more than last year – in a round again dominated by global transactions and dispute resolution. 

All five of the firm’s practice groups were represented, with nine apiece promoted in the global transactions and dispute resolution practices, three in the antitrust, competition and trade team, and two each in the people and reward and tax practices. 

London dominated by location, welcoming nine new partners including five in the disputes team and four in the transactions practice – M&A lawyers Meredith Bayley and Michael Black, leveraged finance specialist Kate Hatcher and IP transactions lawyer Jon Scurr. 

There were 11 promotions across continental Europe, including six in Germany and two in Brussels, where antitrust and competition duo Janet Lang and Aaron Green got the nod. There was also a promotion apiece in Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid. 

The US welcomed three new partners, all in New York, with the promotions completed with Rohit Bhat’s elevation in Singapore in the dispute resolution team and Charlotte Stevens’ elevation in the transactions team in Abu Dhabi. 

The firm has also been building up its US partner bench through lateral hires, recruiting senior private capital M&A partner Matthew Goulding from Latham & Watkins earlier this year to launch an office in Boston and adding a partner apiece from Cooley and Goodwin Procter in Silicon Valley last December as it continued to expand its West Coast practice.

Freshfields’ senior partner, Georgia Dawson, commented: “This cohort of new partners deliver market-leading legal expertise for our global client base. They bring with them the insight, ambition and leadership that will help guide the firm and our teams into the future, shaping how we grow, evolve and continue to deliver for our clients. We look forward to working with our new partners during the next phase of their careers.” 

The round includes 13 women, or 52% of the total, meaning it would have marked the fifth year in a row Freshfields had beaten its previously stated target that at least 40% of new partners be women. 

That target had been part of a five-year diversity plan the firm had published on its website, though Freshfields is one of a number of law firms that has quietly removed references to diversity from its promotional material in recent weeks amid a campaign by US President Donald Trump targetting the legal industry and corporations’ DEI policies. 

Last month, Freshfields was among 20 leading law firms that received an 11-page letter from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requesting detailed information about their DEI practices, although the legality of the inquiry has been questioned by a group of former EEOC officials.  

Freshfields did not respond to a request for comment on how the promotions aligned with its diversity aims. 

The promotions are effective 1 May 2025. A full list of the promotions can be found here.