Watson, Farley & Williams (WFW), a leading international law firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of two lawyers to partner in its New York office. Corporate lawyer Steven Hollander and shipping finance lawyer John Benson officially joined the partnership from 1 May 2014, and bring the number of partners in the WFW New York office to 11. Their appointments are part of 13 promotions in eight of the firm’s 13 offices as part of the firm’s annual partner promotion round for 2014, and bring the total number of partners in the firm to 133.
Steven Hollander, New York, Corporate
Steven focuses on corporate and securities transactions including securities offerings, mergers, acquisitions, regulatory filings, private equity investments, joint ventures, restructurings, other complex business transactions and general corporate matters.
John Benson, New York, Maritime
John specialises in shipping finance, representing financial institutions, investment funds and foreign and domestic owners and operators in the international banking markets, with an emphasis on the negotiation and documentation of cross-border asset-backed structured transactions.
Three new partners have been promoted in the London and Hamburg offices respectively, two in Rome, and one each in Athens, Bangkok and Paris.
Daniel Rodgers, WFW Head of New York, comments: “I congratulate Steven and John on this significant milestone in their careers. Their hard work and commitment is a credit to both themselves and the firm, and will ensure WFW continues to provide an exceptional level of comprehensive and innovative legal counsel to clients.”
Chris Lowe, Managing Partner, comments: “I am delighted to welcome Steven and John, two highly talented lawyers, to the WFW partnership. They both possess outstanding technical knowledge, as well as a steadfast commitment to providing the superior level of client service that underpins WFW’s success. They are great assets to the firm, who will both contribute to the continued growth and strength of our business. ”
Lothar Wegener, Managing Partner, comments: “I congratulate these two outstanding lawyers on their promotions to the WFW partnership. In addition to highlighting our confidence in Steven and John as practitioners, collectively this group of new partners underscores the ongoing strength of the firm as a whole, and the confidence we have in our respective practices.”