Withers has appointed private client disputes lawyer Paul Hewitt as its new chair.
London-based Hewitt will take the helm of the private client powerhouse on 1 July 2025 and succeed Justine Markovitz.
Hewitt, who joined Withers in 1998 as an associate, specialises in all types of trust and probate disputes, as well as working closely with charities on disputes regarding legacies. He is currently co-head of Withers’ Court of Protection practice with Stephen Richards.
Hewitt’s case highlights include representing the late Prince Mukarram Jah, the Nizam of Hyderabad, in a £35m dispute stretching back to the partition of India and Pakistan, alongside other high net worth clients, foundations and charities.
As chair he will work closely with long-term CEO Margaret Robertson, who was elected to her fifth three-year term in 2023 at the 220-partner firm.
Robertson said: “Paul is a universally respected partner at the firm, as much for his thriving practice and dedication to his clients as for the numerous contributions he has already made to the governance and management of the firm.”
Hewitt added: “I’m privileged to have been elected to the role of chair and look forward to representing the diversity of voices and opinions across the firm and making sure that all have the opportunity to be heard. As chair of the firm’s board, I hope to follow the example set by Justine in her two terms, and help the board make the best strategic decisions for the firm’s future.”
Geneva-based Markovitz will stand down after six years as chair, having held the role for the maximum two terms. Under her leadership Withers has significantly increased its revenue, fuelled particularly by marked international expansion. Global turnover stood at $380m in 2023/24, equivalent to about £281.4m, up from £219.7m in 2019/20.
The London-headquartered firm has grown internationally through a combination of strategic alliances, acquisitions and organic growth, primarily focused on Asia and the US.
Recent moves in Asia include a non-exclusive association with Australasian accounting, advisory and audit firm Bentleys announced in April and an alliance with Jakarta boutique Karna Partnership formed last year to boost its offering in Indonesia.
The firm’s 100-lawyer Singapore office, its second largest after London, was also bolstered earlier this year with the hire of a team of disputes lawyers from Morgan Lewis & Bockius led by Pardeep Singh Khosa, who joined as head of litigation. He was the office’s second partner hire in 2025 after Gary Beh, a corporate specialist who moved over from Linklaters in January. The firm also added a two-lawyer real estate team in Singapore from Shook Lin & Bok, led by partner Chau Hwei Lee, in 2024.
Meantime in the US Mari-Claudia Jiménez – the former chair of Sotheby’s in the US – joined earlier this month to lead Withers’ art and advisory practice in New York. The firm first expanded into the US back in 2002 when it merged with Bergman Horowitz & Reynolds in New Haven, Connecticut, and has since grown its footprint in the States to around 160 lawyers across eight offices.
Other US partner laterals since the start of last year include tech litigator Jessica Nall in California from Baker McKenzie, corporate partner Rosa Ertze in New York from Duane Morris and Nicky Rooz, who joined from Salzano Ettinger & Lampert to lead the firm’s family law practice in New York.
Going the other way a five-lawyer IP team left last December to join Boston-based law firm Sullivan & Worcester.
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