Eversheds Sutherland hires Baird Fogel for San Francisco launch

Eversheds Sutherland hires Baird Fogel for San Francisco launch

Baird Fogel has been appointed to lead the new office, with Eversheds' West Coast tech lead Brandi Taylor relocating from San Diego

Eversheds Sutherland has appointed a partner from US competitor Morgan Lewis & Bockius to establish an office in San Francisco.

Baird Fogel is joining the top 10 UK law firms as a partner in charge of its new office after spending five years as a partner of Morgan Lewis.

The West Coast technology lead for Eversheds, Brandi Taylor, will also relocate from San Diego to San Francisco later 2022. In addition, the two will increase the firm's Bay Area capabilities in corporate and data privacy matters, including M&A, contract negotiations, stock sales and advising on product development for gaming and emerging technologies like blockchain, Web 3.0, AI and virtual and augmented reality.

"The strength of Eversheds Sutherland in the Bay Area has always impressed me. The fact that they already work with most of the world's largest technology companies, despite the absence of a physical location in New York, speaks volumes about the firm's global reach and capabilities," said Fogel.

In addition of the new office, there will be a trio of international partners who already have significant client relationships in Northern California, namely M&A specialist Antony Walsh, international AI practice head Charlotte Walker-Osborn, both of whom are based in the UK and global TMT sector head Nasser Ali Khasawneh, based in the firm's Middle East office.

In addition to establishing a presence in San Francisco, Eversheds opened a branch in San Diego in March 2019. The move "aligns with our efforts to expand our US footprint to more effectively support the needs of our growing international client base," the firm said.

The San Francisco office represents the natural evolution of the firm's strategic growth and Baird's deep roots in the Bay Area provide an excellent platform for growth in the market, said Mark Wasserman, partner and co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland. Wasserman added that the new office will add support to the firm's existing US and international clients and introduce the firm's global capabilities to clients in the region.

Before joining Morgan Lewis in 2017, Fogel was a partner in the San Francisco offices of Crowell & Moring and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. He concentrates his corporate practice on matters related to mergers and acquisitions, contract negotiation, project finance, commercial law, and compliance. In addition to counseling sports clients, he also represents the NFL and NBA in regulatory and transactional matters.

Moreover, Fogel has experience in the renewable energy industry and Eversheds' co-head of global corporate services, Robert Pile, said that Fogel's experience in both corporate and renewable energy will provide a dynamic element to the firm, complementing its existing practices and giving clients access to a wide range of services and geographies.

Meanwhile, Taylor is a partner in Eversheds' cybersecurity and privacy practice, which has been ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners in the United States. From Duane Morris, she joined the firm in 2013 as a partner, where she focuses on product development and data privacy compliance for tech companies. In addition, she helps companies develop multijurisdictional privacy compliance programs.

Eversheds also expanded its reach into three new markets last June by acquiring FCB, a Portuguese law firm with offices in Angola and Mozambique, bringing its geographical reach to 74 offices located across 35 countries.

In recent months, Eversheds has not been the only UK firm to examine San Francisco. The Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy has hired a seven-partner tech-focused team from White & Case to open offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, after adding an Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld team with six partners to set up shop in Los Angeles last year.

A seven-partner Silicon Valley office for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was established in 2020 after it hired five partners from four US rivals.