The Magic Circle has had its problems trying to make inroads in the U.S., but Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, one of the London-based legal giants that has perhaps had the most success stateside, is ramping up its bid for transactional work in New York by hiring two former partners from Wall Street stalwarts Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Freshfields announced Tuesday that it has brought on former Wachtell M&A pro Mitchell Presser and ex-Skadden banking group head James Douglas to serve as head of its M&A and leveraged finance groups, respectively, in New York. Douglas is a retired Skadden partner who joined Freshfields in April. Presser previously spent more than 17 years at Wachtell before leaving that firm in 2006 to cofound New York-based private equity firm Paine & Partners.
