Sullivan & Cromwell has made a very rare lateral hire in London, adding the global co-head of A&O Shearman’s financial services regulatory group.

Barnabas Reynolds was previously a partner at legacy Shearman & Sterling and brings decades of experience advising financial institutions including Barclays, Citi, Deutsche Bank and ICE on cross-border transactions and regulatory matters, focused on UK and EU regulations. 

His hire will enable Sullivan & Cromwell to provide full-service advice to its financial institution clients from London, said firm co-chairs, Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller, noting the office remained a “key growth priority” for the firm.  

Reynolds is only the firm’s third partner lateral in London since 2013 following the hire of Shearman & Sterling corporate partner Jeremy Kutner in 2018 and legacy Allen & Overy private equity partner Karan Dinamani in 2023. 

With around 80 lawyers the London office is Sullivan & Cromwell’s second largest, though is dwarfed by its 500-lawyer headquarters in New York. Reynold’s arrival comes shortly after a rare instance of partners defecting from the firm in London, its European restructuring head Chris Howard and European credit and leveraged finance partner Presley Warner having left for Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in March. 

For his part Reynolds spent more than 20 years at Shearman & Sterling before its merger with Allen & Overy last year to make A&O Shearman. He has a well-respected practice across the financial services spectrum including payments, fintech, cryptocurrencies and digital assets, banking, derivatives, financial markets and infrastructure, fund management, insurance and enforcement actions.

Sullivan & Cromwell pointed to Reynold’s experience working with financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis, the Eurozone crisis of 2009-2012, and more recently, the Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank situations. Reynolds also designed the legal regime for the Abu Dhabi Global Market and led a team of 50 lawyers in crafting its laws. 

An A&O Shearman spokesperson commented: “We thank Barney for the contribution he has made to the firm and wish him all the best for the future.”

Reynolds is the latest in a slew of senior defections from A&O Shearman’s London office, which has lost more than 20 partners to rivals since the merger that created the firm went live in May 2024 according to Law360. Just last month digital infrastructure partner Tom Levine and restructuring partner Nick Charlwood joined Paul Weiss as the New York firm continued the rapid build out of its London office, the same month that Simon Letherman, the longtime head of Shearman & Sterling’s London tax practice, joined BCLP. 

Earlier this month an 11-lawyer structured finance team led by partners Franz Ranero and James Smallwood – both leading figures in the European CLO market – also officially moved over to Latham & Watkins. Globally A&O Shearman has shed dozens of partners since last September as part of post-merger cuts that also saw it close its office in Johannesburg and its consulting arm. 

To be sure, there have been moves in the other direction. In London the firm rehired M&A lawyer George Knighton from Skadden last month, while last year notable hires included private equity duo Dan Graham and Paul Dunbar from Sidley Austin and debt finance lawyers Parisa Clovis and Filippo Crosara, who joined from Kirkland & Ellis and Barclays respectively.