International law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced today that leading English M&A lawyer Michael McDonald will join the firm as a partner in its London office.
Mr. McDonald, 42, comes to Cleary Gottlieb from Allen & Overy, where his broad-based experience includes mergers and acquisitions (public and private), private equity, joint ventures, and restructuring in various sectors, including financial institutions, real estate, industrials, technology, media and communications. He has been recognized by Chambers and Partners as a leading UK M&A lawyer.
Mr. McDonald’s appointment brings the total number of Cleary Gottlieb partners to 181.
“Michael’s arrival at Cleary Gottlieb will provide a strategic boost to our growing London-based mergers and acquisitions practice,” said Cleary Gottlieb Managing Partner Mark Walker. “His presence in London will reinforce our ability to handle major UK corporate transactions as well as cross-border transactions in conjunction with our other offices.”
Mr. McDonald originally qualified as a lawyer in Ontario, Canada in 1993 and was admitted as a solicitor in England in Wales in 1997. He practiced in Toronto and London at Torys LLP, one of Canada’s pre-eminent corporate law firms, where he became a partner in 1998. He subsequently joined Allen & Overy, becoming a partner in 2001.
Commenting on his move, Mr. McDonald said, “I am naturally sad to leave my many colleagues and friends at Allen & Overy. However, the offer to join a stellar firm like Cleary Gottlieb presents an extraordinary opportunity to broaden my practice. I relish the new challenges of helping to further develop the firm’s English and transnational M&A practice.”