Latham & Watkins has appointed finance partner Jay Sadanandan as the new head of its London office.

Sadanandan, a leveraged finance specialist who has served as Latham’s deputy London managing partner since early 2013, replaces corporate partner Nick Cline, who finished a five-year term as head of the office in February. Sadanandan takes control of an office that was recently identified by The American Lawyer as one of the strongest of any U.S. firm in London, with leading practices in high-yield, private equity and leveraged finance. (Latham’s profile was part of a wider assessment of the performance of U.S. law firms in London. For the full feature, click here.)