Two leverage finance partners from Linklaters join Allen & Overy

Two leverage finance partners from Linklaters join Allen & Overy

Though lateral hires among Magic Circle firms are rare, A&O was forced to do so due to raids from US law firms

Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy (A&O) has gone in for lateral hires by getting two senior leverage finance partners on board from Linklaters.

Although Magic Circle firms normally avoid lateral hires, A&O was forced to take this route following aggressive hiring by US rivals.

Annette Kurdian and Robert Burt, both with two decades of experience at Linklaters, have moved over to A&O. Kurdian and Burt were made partners at Linklaters in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

A&O had lost senior leverage finance partner in London Sanjeev Dhuna in April to Shearman & Sherman. Its former leverage finance head Jonathan Browson along with partners Joydeep Choudhuri and Jake Keaveny had joined Cahil Gordon & Reindel last year.

"Annette's arrival will enhance our penetration into the growing leveraged and infrastructure finance cross-over space as well as building on our strong track record in the private credit arena. Robert's depth of experience and standing in the market bolsters our integrated loan and high yield offering for sponsor backed LBOs, as we continue to deliver a leading one stop solution for leveraged finance advice," Denise Gibson, A&O's co-head of global leveraged finance, said.

Kurdian had joined Linklaters as a managing associate in 2001. She has carved out a successful practice in several areas including the crossover between leveraged and infrastructure finance, private credit transactions, as well as fund finance and mainstream leveraged financing advice.

Burt focuses on leveraged and acquisition finance, acting principally for banks on sponsor-backed acquisition finance.