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O’Melveny & Myers, a prominent law firm, has announced hiring real estate finance lawyer Malcolm Montgomery from Shearman & Sterling. This move marks the fourth Shearman partner to join a new firm within the same week.
Based in New York, Montgomery held significant roles at Shearman, including co-heading the real estate investment trusts (REITs) group and the hospitality, leisure, and gaming group. Additionally, he served as the head of the firm’s real estate group for a period of five years. Montgomery’s client roster includes esteemed institutions such as Citibank, Deutsche Bank, U.S. Bank, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and Shorenstein Properties, according to O’Melveny.
This departure comes on the heels of the merger announcement between Shearman and Allen & Overy, a London-founded law firm. Although the proposed combination awaits approval from the firms’ partnerships, the merger would result in a powerhouse legal entity boasting approximately 3,900 lawyers and a combined global revenue of around $3.4 billion.
See also: Key UK Partners Depart Shearman & Sterling Ahead of Allen & Overy Merger
Since the merger plans were made public, several other Shearman lawyers have secured positions at competing firms. Ryan Shores, an antitrust and litigation partner, recently joined Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Washington, D.C. Shores, who returned to Shearman in 2021 after serving as the associate deputy attorney general and senior advisor for technology industries at the U.S. Department of Justice, made the move earlier this week.
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In London, projects and infrastructure partners Ben Shorten and Trinh Chubbock departed Shearman to join Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, as announced by their new firm on Monday. Shorten will lead Gibson Dunn’s EMEA project finance team. Additionally, intellectual property litigator L. Kieran Kieckhefer recently left Shearman for Gibson Dunn while based in San Francisco.
A Shearman spokesperson expressed gratitude for the departing lawyers’ contributions and extended well wishes, emphasizing the firm’s continued strength in their respective practice areas. Meanwhile, an Allen & Overy spokesperson has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding the developments.
Regarding his decision to return to O’Melveny, Montgomery clarified that it was unrelated to Shearman’s proposed merger. He explained that his practice has recently focused more on cross-border financing deals, as REITs increasingly seek growth opportunities beyond the United States. Montgomery found O’Melveny appealing due to its global reach and its commitment to investing in a robust real estate finance practice.
The legal landscape continues to witness significant movement and realignment, driven by strategic mergers and individual career choices. These developments impact the involved firms and highlight the shifting dynamics within the real estate finance sector. With notable departures and new hires, industry observers eagerly await the outcome of Shearman’s proposed merger and the subsequent transformations it may bring.
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