Squire Patton Boggs has hired four partners across its Birmingham, Leeds, London and Manchester offices to grow its UK regional presence.
Joining the firm are litigator Miles Robinson, who arrives as a partner from Mayer Brown in London, while Partho Chaudhuri joins the corporate team in Birmingham from Deloitte. Another litigator, Deborah Polden, joins in Leeds from Eversheds Sutherland, while restructuring partner Chris Roberts joins from DLA Piper in Manchester.
Robinson offers seniority and leadership influence, having previously served as head of Mayer Brown’s London product liability practice and as co-group leader for the global product liability team, where he was responsible for significant class actions. He leaves the firm after 28 years, having qualified there.
Stephen Sampson, UK head of litigation at SPB, said: “Miles is a heavyweight litigator with strong client relationships who will add complementary quality and specialism at a time of strong client demand for dispute advice.
“Miles is particularly renowned for his work in the chemicals sector, complementary to the expertise of our global chemicals industry group, and he follows several hires we’ve also made in this space this year.”
Chaudhuri brings more than 14 years’ experience, including at DLA Piper and Freeths before his time at Deloitte. He advises on local and global M&A transactions, from pre-deal structuring, restructuring and carve-outs, through to transaction negotiations and post-merger integration.
Tom Durrant, Birmingham office managing partner, added: “Partho’s appointment forms part of our investment in our presence in the Midlands and underlines our commitment to clients looking for best-in-class corporate advice, whether they are doing business at a regional, national or international level.”
Polden was previously head of Eversheds’ Leeds commercial dispute resolution team. She will now lead Squire’s litigation practice in Leeds, bringing 18 years of experience primarily in commercial disputes, including post-M&A and shareholder disputes, and group litigation and class actions.
She qualified at Clifford Chance and then joined Eversheds, where she later led the consumer and retail sector disputes offering, with particular expertise in the industrials and transport industries. She was made a partner in 2020.
Prew Lumley, Leeds managing partner, said: “Deborah is a pivotal hire for us, with opportunities to develop our litigation practice working closely with our corporate and financial services teams, and to support our office growth plans.”
Roberts, meanwhile previously led DLA Piper’s restructuring and insolvency team across the North West and Birmingham, playing a key role in developing its national practice and becoming a partner in 2016.
With 20 years of insolvency experience, Roberts specialises in non-contentious restructuring and turnaround matters, advising lenders, corporates, sponsors and officeholders. He has extensive expertise in leading multi-stakeholder restructurings and distressed M&A transactions across various sectors.
James Fitzgibbon, Manchester managing partner, added: “Chris will help to lead the charge as we continue to grow the office, working alongside our market-leading corporate and financial services teams to develop opportunities for restructuring and insolvency work.”
Jonathan Jones, the firm’s European managing partner, added: “Our UK business has been growing at a double-digit rate over the past few years, and we remain committed to investing in our future, including through a combination of strategic lateral hires and organic growth.”
The firm’s global revenue in 2024 was reported by Legal Cheek as $1.36bn, a 9% increase from $1.24bn the previous year, with profit per equity partner reported as $2.3m. The firm promoted 17 lawyers globally to partner in its February partnership round, including several in the UK, with one in Leeds and three in London.
Jones added that the new arrivals brought new relationships and significant experience in areas that the firm’s clients urgently needed, a sentiment shared by Steve Mahon, the firm’s global managing partner for clients and strategy.
“These are welcome additions that advance multiple segments of our cross-border practice,” said Mahon.
The incoming quartet follow more than a dozen senior additions the firm has made across the UK in recent years, most recently including key London hires such as Monica Gogna from EY, now the firm’s global head of financial regulation.
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