Wragge & Co boosts City credentials with partner hire

Wragge & Co LLP has appointed a new partner, enhancing its corporate finance and private equity capability. David Marshall has joined from Travers Smith; the first in a series of new hires to expand Wragge & Co's City-based corporate practice.

Senior partner Quentin Poole said: "David has a strong City pedigree and is well connected and respected within that market. He is bright, ambitious and looking to make his mark as a Wragge & Co partner. In return, we offer the platform and support to realise those ambitions."

David is returning to Wragge & Co, having joined the firm as a newly qualified solicitor in 2000. Fluent in Russian, he left to spend three years in CMS Cameron McKenna's Moscow office advising on M&A deals, primarily in the energy and metals sectors.

In 2006 he joined Travers Smith's private equity team where he advised institutional clients including Bridgepoint, 3i and Phoenix, as well as investee companies and management teams. He brings a broad range of experience, having taken the lead on complex cross-border M&A and private equity transactions.

David Marshall said: "I'm back at a firm I enjoyed being part of at the beginning of my career. While I've been away, Wragge & Co has established itself as a strong UK firm and, increasingly, an international firm. With the new office in Paris and increased corporate capability in London, I'm joining at an exciting time in its continued development and success."

David Marshall's arrival takes the total number of corporate partners to 18. His appointment follows that of Bijan Sedghi, who joined the firm from HBJ Gateley Wareing in late 2008. Bijan Sedghi specialises in strategy, introductions and deal-origination, identifying opportunities for clients and targets to help them grow and develop their businesses.

Wragge & Co's 18-partner, 70-lawyer Corporate group provides a partner-led service and commercial legal advice to listed companies, private companies and institutional investors. Highlights include advising AIM-listed The Conygar Investment Company PLC on a hostile reverse takeover. M&A activity includes acting on the acquisition of national fish and chip chain Harry Ramsden's and the merger between Dollond & Aitchison and Boots Opticians.

The total number of partners in Wragge & Co's all-equity partnership is 112.