Travers Smith has hired Daniel Vowden from Mayer Brown, where he was London head of antitrust and competition law.
Vowden – the fourth partner to join Travers Smith this month – will divide his time between the firm’s London office and its recently opened Brussels arm.
His practice covers UK and EU competition law and he has acted on merger control cases, including numerous Phase II merger inquiries and matters requiring structural or behavioural remedies.
He has advised clients on navigating foreign direct investment and national security rules, including the UK’s National Security and Investment Act regime, as well as securing international regulatory approvals for cross-border M&A deals.
At Travers Smith, he will work closely with competition head Nigel Seay and partner Ingrid Hodgskiss, who was promoted in 2024.
Vowden’s arrival follows the exit of Travers’ former head of competition law, Stephen Whitfield, who rejoined legacy Taylor Wessing in March.
Seay highlighted Vowden’s “deep knowledge of both the London and Brussels markets” and “rigorous approach and experience advising on landmark cases both in the UK and internationally”.
Vowden is Travers’ fourth hire this month, following the arrivals of funds partner Laura Houët, formerly global co-head of ESG at CMS; arbitration partner Andy Moody, formerly head of international arbitration at Baker McKenzie; and employment partner Andrew Howard, who joined from Deloitte.
In July, Travers Smith reported a 9.1% increase in turnover of £229.4m for the year ending 30 June 2026, with profit per equity partner increasing by £100,000 to £1.4m, marking a return to growth after a difficult 2024/25.
Senior partner Andrew Gillen said: “These new hires, following our strong senior counsel and partner promotions earlier in the year, highlight our focus on both nurturing internal talent and attracting exceptional lawyers to join our practice.”
Vowden trained and qualified at Slaughter and May before working at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and then legacy Herbert Smith Freehills, where he practised in Brussels and was promoted to partner in 2019 after a decade at the firm.
He spent three years at Mayer Brown and is due to join Travers Smith in October.
His notable cases include defending a UK construction company in the CMA’s investigation into suspected bid rigging in the supply of construction services to UK schools, launched in December 2024 and the first time the CMA had probed publicly-funded tender procedures.
A spokesperson for Mayer Brown, which also made a hire in Brussels this month with the arrival of former Baker McKenzie trade partner Pablo Bentes, said: “We can confirm that Daniel Vowden will be leaving the firm. He leaves with our best wishes.”
Separately, Baker McKenzie has confirmed that Moody’s replacement as global head of international arbitration is Kate Corby.
Corby, who is well known professionally for her arbitral practice alongside her support for diversity initiatives in this field, said: “After working at Baker McKenzie since I was a trainee and helping to shape our arbitration practice, I am looking forward to rising to the challenge of leading the team and supporting our fantastic group of lawyers across the globe as we focus on our next stage of growth.”
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