A new three-person management team will take over the running of Bird & Bird’s London office in May when current London head Nick Perry steps down from the role.
Phil Sherrell –current head of the firm’s international Media, Entertainment and Sport sector group - will take on the Head of London role, supported by London Corporate head and head of its Energy & Utilities sector group Matt Bonass and Tax partner Zoe Feller.
The team was appointed following a succession planning process and partner consultation in London. They will shadow Nick over the coming months before stepping into the roles officially on 1 May. The appointment of a team will enable Phil, Matt and Zoe to continue their successful practices alongside their management roles.
Phil is a litigator specialising in complex copyright, trade mark and media disputes, and has led the Media Entertainment and Sport sector since 2015, during which time the group has more than doubled revenue through a combination of organic growth and the successful integration of a number of internal partner promotions and lateral hires.
Matt has headed up the Energy & Utilities sector group since 2014 and will continue to lead the London Corporate department. In addition to his London roles, Matt will also become co-head of the international Corporate team alongside Alberto Salvadè, effective immediately. Matt has a remit to expand the firm’s Corporate offering further across the globe, reflecting client demand for its tech and sector-focussed transactional services.
Having joined the firm’s Tax team in 2016, Zoe became a partner in 2017. She has run the London Corporate Tax team for the last three years, and is co-chair of the London D&I Committee. She has been involved in driving recruitment and retention of a diverse and talented team since joining the firm.
Christian Bartsch, CEO-elect, says: “I’d like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Nick for his long and successful service as Head of London. He has overseen, amongst other things, the move into new office premises, the promotion and hire of more than 80 partners, strong revenue growth and most recently, the move to fully remote and then agile working practices. We are particularly appreciative of how well he has steered the office through the pandemic, playing an invaluable role in keeping us all together as a business.
“I am looking forward to working closely with our new London Management Team and am really excited about the opportunities ahead for our London office.”
Phil says: “On behalf of all of the London office, I want to extend our gratitude to Nick for the huge contribution that he has made to the firm as Head of London over the past 13 years. He has led us skilfully through several periods of change and played an influential role in the career development of so many of our people. The London office has grown from strength to strength under his leadership and we are enormously grateful for his dedication.
“Together with Matt and Zoe, I’m very much looking forward to playing a part in our continuing success in London. Our people are at the heart of why we love working at Bird & Bird and we are all excited to have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the London office, alongside Christian, to enhance our culture and realise the full potential of our unique client offering.”
