Two London HSF Partners Challenge Incumbent for Firm’s Top Role

Herbert Smith Freehills partners will choose between three candidates to lead the firm as it readies for its merger with Kramer Levin.

Sydney corporate lawyer Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, the firm’s chair and senior partner, is running for another four-year term at the helm. Two London corporate partners—Gavin Davies and Malcolm Lombers—are challenging her for the position, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

Voting is expected to open April 28, according to sources.

The firm did not respond to request for comment.

HSF’s transatlantic merger with New York’s Kramer Levin is set to go live June 1, a month later than originally planned. The combined Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer will have more than $2 billion in revenue and around 2,700 lawyers.

The chair and senior partner term will lead the combined firm alongside Justin D’Agostino, HSF’s Hong Kong-based chief executive officer. Maslen-Stannage was elected chair and senior partner in May 2021, the first woman to take the role. The next term will run until April 30, 2029.

Davies and Lombers hail from Herbert Smith, a corporate-focused London firm that merged with Australian litigation powerhouse Freehills in 2012 to create Herbert Smith Freehills.

Davies joined Herbert Smith in 1992, according to his LinkedIn profile, and currently sits on HSF’s board. He leads the firm’s global M&A practice, advising investment manager Elliott Advisors and internet services company OneWeb, among others.

Lombers joined the firm in 1997 and was a member of the firm’s global board and audit committee from 2013 to 2016. His clients have included UK broadcaster Sky and India’s Tata Steel.

Maslen-Stannage is an M&A and capital markets lawyer who became a partner at Freehills in 2000, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has advised Australia media giant Seven Group Holdings, among other clients.