Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has appointed three new regional disputes leaders as the transatlantic firm continues integrating its disputes practices following last year’s merger between Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin.
Experienced insurance litigator Alexander Oddy was named as UK and EMEA managing partner, while Kerri Ann Law and Benjamin Rubinstein will become co-managing partners for US disputes next month.
The trio will work alongside Hong Kong-based Simon Chapman KC, who remains managing partner for disputes in Asia and Australia and retains his position as co-head of the global arbitration practice alongside London’s Andrew Cannon.
Oddy succeeds Paul Lewis, who returns to practice after more than three years leading the UK and EMEA disputes team, during which it achieved a signature win in the FCA Supreme Court Covid-19 test case insurance litigation, for which he was seen as an industry leader.
Lewis’s tenure, however, is shorter than his predecessors, including Damien Byrne Hill, who managed the UK disputes team for five years from 2018 to 2023 after replacing Mark Shillito.
Byrne Hill subsequently became co-head of the global disputes practice in 2020 when Justin D’Agostino relinquished that role to become chief executive; D’Agostino managed the global disputes function between 2014 and 2020 after succeeding Sonya Leydecker.
All were legacy Herbert Smith partners. Lewis is the longest serving, joining the partnership in 2001, while Oddy was promoted in 2004, D’Agostino in 2007 and Chapman in 2013.
Law and Rubinstein replace Paul Schoeman, who assumed responsibility for US disputes following the 2025 merger and remains the firm’s US executive partner.
Law – a legacy Kramer Levin partner – became the firm’s US head of litigation at HSF Kramer last year, having been a partner since 1997. Like Oddy, she is a career commercial litigator, having counted JPMorgan Chase and Bear Stearns as clients during the global financial crisis.
She has three decades of trial experience across commercial litigation, securities fraud, fiduciary duties claims, antitrust and employment disputes. Her practice also includes internal corporate investigations and domestic and international arbitration.
Rubinstein, meanwhile, has built a reputation as a leading US product liability and mass tort litigator, making partner in 2012, and subsequently heading up that group. Class actions is one of the merged firm’s avowed areas of interest, with Rubinstein counting tobacco giant BAT as one of his most significant clients.
The new appointments leave Australia without a seat at the disputes table, since Anna Sutherland was replaced by Chapman in 2024.
Global chief executive Justin D’Agostino said: “Our elite disputes practice is a defining strength of our firm and central to HSF Kramer’s global ambition. Alex, Kerri Ann and Ben are outstanding lawyers and leaders.”
He added: “My huge thanks to Paul Lewis and Paul Schoeman for their exceptional leadership and the enormous contribution they have made in bringing our disputes practices together through the combination and creating the unique transatlantic and transpacific platform from which this new team will build.”
Oddy, a London-based commercial disputes partner, specialises in insurance coverage litigation, regulatory investigations and ADR. His practice has involved major international insurance claims, including representing AerCap in the Russian aviation litigation, securing a $1.035bn High Court victory in 2025.
Oddy said: “I’m honoured to step into this role and build on the momentum our UK EMEA platform has achieved under Paul’s excellent leadership.”
He added: “Clients are facing an increasingly complex risk landscape, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with my fellow managing partners as we embrace the challenges and opportunities of AI for our practice and our clients.”
Law said: “It’s a privilege to lead this exceptional team alongside Ben, and I’m excited about what we can achieve together as we shape the next chapter of our US disputes practice,” with Rubinstein adding he was delighted to be working with Law, given the firm’s disputes practice “has long been at the core of our DNA”.
The appointments follow mixed fortunes for HSF Kramer’s post-merger disputes capabilities.
In June 2025, HSF Kramer recruited Alison Hardy from Ashurst to lead its London real estate disputes practice, while it promoted 25 lawyers to partner in April 2026, its first post-merger round – seven of which were disputes lawyers. It also added Haynes Boone’s US Supreme Court practice chair Daniel Geyser as a partner in Washington DC back in July.
However, the firm also saw a seven-partner IP litigation team depart for Brown Rudnick to establish its Silicon Valley office in August – all legacy Kramer Levin lawyers.
In July, HSF Kramer reported $2.4bn revenues post-merger.
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