King & Spalding has continued its arbitral expansion with a double partner hire from WilmerHale in London, following an earlier raid on the firm that brings the total moving across to eight partners.
The incoming pair – Steven Finizio and Jonathan Lim – reunite with Gary Born, Franz Schwarz, Marleen Krueger, Rachael Kent and Danielle Morris, who joined King & Spalding in June, and Charlie Caher, who followed in July. The team is spread across London, New York and Washington DC.
Finizio will be based in London, while Lim will also spend significant time in the firm’s Singapore office while remaining based in London.
“Steve and Jonny are highly regarded international arbitration and litigation lawyers and critical members of our group that recently joined King & Spalding to form a peerless international disputes practice,” said Born, who now co-leads the firm’s disputes practice, having led the arbitral practice at WilmerHale.
The duo “bring top-notch disputes capabilities and experience in key sectors like energy, financial services, manufacturing and technology, further expanding ways we can collaborate to help clients navigate complex disputes around the globe”, he added.
Finizio advises on energy, financial services, shareholder, joint venture, M&A and manufacturing disputes. His work covers proceedings under the rules of all major arbitral institutions, as well as disputes across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the US and investor-state claims under investment treaties. He is also a professor at SOAS, University of London.
Calling the firm “a natural destination for us”, Finzio added on LinkedIn: “Perhaps not the most surprising news in the world, but I’m very happy to rejoin my old friends and get to work with my new ones.”
Lim acts as counsel and arbitrator in disputes involving the aerospace, construction, energy, financial services, telecommunications and technology sectors.
Noting the firm’s deep bench strength, including in key markets such as London, Paris and Singapore, Lim said: “We are delighted to join a firm with a truly global platform that lets us serve our clients seamlessly, and at the highest levels of excellence, across major arbitration hubs.”
Tom Sprange KC, a fellow disputes lawyer and London managing partner, said: “The addition of Steve, Jonny and the rest of this pre-eminent team is one more sign of how we are positioning King & Spalding as a premier choice for clients’ most complex legal issues.”
The firm said 11 of the 15 lawyers in the incoming team would be based in London, including six partners. The wider team now includes four counsel who followed from WilmerHale in July: London-based Nadja Al Kanawati, Matteo Angelini and Michael Arada Greenop, and New York-based Claudio Salas. New York senior associate Caio Pazinato Ramos has also joined the group from WilmerHale.
Its City office also hired corporate real estate partner Raymond Fang from Goodwin and competition specialist Jade-Alexandra Fearns from Paul Hastings in May.
King & Spalding subsequently expanded its office space at 8 Bishopsgate by leasing the 47th floor, a seven-floor investment, while London generated revenue of $148m in 2025, up 48% from $100m the previous year, according to figures reported by The American Lawyer.
The firm’s latest promotion round in January elevated 27 lawyers to partner and 17 to counsel across 13 offices in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
WilmerHale was contacted for comment.
John Trenor, a long-serving Washington DC partner, subsequently succeeded Born as chair of WilmerHale’s international arbitration practice.
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