About two weeks ago, Paul Hastings announced a major coup — the firm had hired away leading leveraged finance partner Nigel Ward from Ashurst, where he ran the firm’s banking and capital markets practice, bragging that Paul Hastings was now able to bolster its own practice in that area with a “pre-eminent” legal mind. According to Paul Hastings, Ward is one of the “most prominent and respected lawyers” in his field of practice in the UK, so the firm was incredibly happy to add him to its team. Here’s a copy of the Paul Hastings press release:
It appears, however, that Paul Hastings may have gotten ahead of itself with its braggadocious announcement, because Ashurst just announced that Ward has decided to stay with the firm. The firm tried to quickly remove the press release from its site, but it’s still available on Google cache. Oh, bollocks!
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Ashurst is “delighted that Nigel remains committed to the firm,” while Paul Hastings, perhaps too polite to speak its mind despite its embarrassment “wish[es] [Ward] well.”
Paul Hastings Left Embarrassed Over Shock Partner U-Turn, But It’s Not Alone [Law.com]
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.