Morgan Lewis Scoops Up 54-Lawyer Kramer Levin Team in Paris

Morgan Lewis & Bockius will acquire Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel’s Paris office, including a 54-lawyer team, the firm said Friday.

The move comes ahead of Manhattan-based Kramer Levin’s transatlantic merger with Herbert Smith Freehills, which is set to close in May. The Paris office, Kramer Levin’s only location outside of the US, was not a part of the deal.

The group includes corporate partner Dana Anagnostou and private equity partner Sébastien Pontillo, Morgan Lewis said. They are expected to begin at Morgan Lewis on January 1, bringing the firm’s Paris headcount to 23 partners and 70 total lawyers.

“The team’s arrival enhances our ability to take advantage of the burgeoning French and European equity markets for clients while being nimble to explore opportunities for them in key industry sectors such as alternative finance and cryptocurrency, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology,” said Morgan Lewis’ managing partner Steven Wall in a statement.

Anagnostou will co-lead the Morgan Lewis Paris office, along with current Morgan Lewis partner Sabine Smith-Vidal.

Kramer Levin operates three offices in the US in New York, Silicon Valley, and Washington D.C. The firm announced the deal to combine with HSF shortly after losing prominent white collar lawyer Barry Berke and his team to Gibson Dunn.

The tie-up will create a massive combined firm with more than $2 billion in gross revenue. The new firm will be called Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, known in the US as HSF Kramer.