Withers has announced an expanded round of partner promotions, appointing 16 new partners effective from 1 July, with its US offices seeing the largest share.
Ten of the new partners are based in the US, with four in Asia and two in London.
The 16-partner total marks a notable increase from 2024, when the firm promoted 12 new partners across the UK, Asia and the US.
Half of this year’s promotions went to women – an improvement on 2024, when the firm promoted four women and eight men.
This continues Withers’ strong performance on gender balance, with women making up 43% of its global partnership, according to the most recent data published by Withers.
Of the 10 promoted in the US, two are based in New York, two in New Haven, and the remainder in California: four in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco and one in San Diego.
Luca Denora, based in New York, advises high-net-worth individuals and aviation businesses on aircraft sales, purchases, leasing and financing. He is qualified in both the US and Italy. Jordan Garman, also in New York, is a litigator and arbitrator specialising in contract disputes, art law, employment and securities litigation, and constitutional matters, with a strong pro bono practice.
Wonchi Ju and Michael Steffany, both in New Haven, focus on US and international tax planning for high-net-worth individuals and closely held businesses. Ju advises on cross-border tax matters, while Steffany also handles tax controversy and compliance work.
Jessica Kaplan, based in San Francisco, focuses on wealth transfer planning, estate and gift tax matters, and trust administration. Leslie Evans, based in San Diego, is a family lawyer handling divorce, custody, support, paternity, and pre-nuptial and cohabitation agreements.
In Los Angeles, four lawyers have been promoted: Kevin Jackson and Craig Weinstein, both specialising in trust and estate litigation, including will disputes, fiduciary issues and conservatorships; Susanna Kim, an estate planning and probate expert; and Erika Scheideman, a family law specialist advising on complex divorce, custody (including three-parent arrangements), and international family law, as well as pre- and post-nuptial agreements.
Together, they serve a diverse client base, from ultra-high-net-worth individuals to fiduciaries, across estate planning and complex family law matters.
Four new partners are based in Asia – one each in Tokyo and Singapore: tax lawyer Kohei Kobayashi in Japan, and US-qualified private client tax lawyer Chantal Matin-Lewis, respectively. In Hong Kong, promotions went to disputes lawyers Gary Leung, a former barrister and now solicitor-advocate, and Alex Ye, a commercial litigator and arbitration specialist dual-qualified in Hong Kong and London.
In London, litigator Joshua Swift was promoted. He handles a broad range of commercial matters, including finance disputes, professional negligence, insolvency and tax cases. He is joined by specialist tax lawyer and estate planning expert Emma Cooper-Hedges.
Margaret Robertson, CEO of Withers, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to welcome so many of our talented lawyers around the world into the partnership.
“In particular, this year sees us reinforcing our partner group in the US, where there are so many exciting growth opportunities for the business. I offer my congratulations to all 16 of our new partners and look forward to seeing them advance their careers at the firm.”
The promotions follow two notable partner-level lateral hires last month: art law partner Mari-Claudia Jiménez, who joined from Sotheby’s to lead the firm’s new art and advisory practice in New York; and disputes lawyer Mohammed Reza, who joined the Singapore office from Simmons & Simmons, where he led the local dispute resolution practice.
The news follows the appointment of trusts litigator Paul Hewitt as chair of the firm, succeeding Justine Markovitz last week.
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