Baker McKenzie welcomes new partners

Baker McKenzie has welcomed 116 new partners to the Firm in the year to 30 June 2022, an increase of 22 per cent from the previous year, demonstrating clear and growing confidence in the continued success of the Firm.

Seventy-five colleagues were promoted to partner globally and in key markets including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with another 41 lateral partner hires joining the Firm in the same period.

In the MENA region, the Firm boasts of over 30 partners with the appointments of Dispute Resolution partners Amir Alkhaja (UAE) and Sally Kotb (UAE), IP & Technology partner Kellie Blyth (UAE), Banking & Finance partner Mohamed Elharmy (Egypt) and M&A partner Keltoum Boudribila (Morocco).

This year, the MENA practice also added lateral M&A and Private Equity partners Osama Audi and Adnan Doha and Capital Markets partner Abeer Jarrar and welcomed back M&A and Capital Markets partner Mohammad Al Rasheed.

There is a broad geographical and practice mix across this year’s partner promotions, with a focus on M&A, Tax and Dispute Resolution. Baker McKenzie continues to strengthen its partner cohort in key markets including Sydney, Washington D.C. and London.

The 75 home-grown partner promotions are across 25 jurisdictions globally, representing an incredibly diverse range of cultures and backgrounds. Of these new partners, 37 per cent are female, which also moves the Firm closer to its 40:40:20 gender diversity targets (representing 40 per cent women, 40 per cent men and 20 per cent flexible, i.e., women, men or non-binary persons), although there is still more work to do.

Commenting on these appointments, Milton Cheng, global chair, Baker McKenzie, said, “Progressing to partner is a reflection of many years of hard work and highly successful client engagement. With the pandemic creating many challenges over the past two years, this promotion round provides an important opportunity to celebrate the diversity and depth of talent we have in the Firm, and the enormous contribution our new partners make. Across the world, to see our younger lawyers from such a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures make partner is one of the highlights of being a law firm leader.”