backLONDON, October 7, 2014 — In a further expansion of its European restructuring practice, King & Spalding has recruited English-qualified lawyer Elisabeth Baltay as a partner to its London office. Baltay will focus on financial restructuring and finance matters. She joins King & Spalding from Bingham McCutchen, where she was a partner.
Baltay’s arrival at King & Spalding follows the recent addition of Werner Meier, who heads the firm's European restructuring practice. Meier divides his time between the firm’s London and Frankfurt, Germany, offices.
“We have recruited quality partners to expand our London practice to enhance and deepen the services we offer our clients, and we welcome Elisabeth to the firm,” said Garry Pegg, London managing partner of King & Spalding. “The London office is a focus of growth for the firm, particularly in the area of financial institutions, and Elisabeth is a valuable addition for the European financial restructuring and finance practices.”
“Elisabeth’s significant experience in handling both UK and foreign restructuring transactions will play a crucial role in the expansion of our restructuring platform,” said William H. Fuller, co-leader of King & Spalding’s financial institutions practice. “At the same time, having worked on numerous public to private financings, project financings and secured syndicated corporate lendings, her practice has a significant finance component which she will help grow in London and Europe, where the demand for finance capability is growing significantly on the backs of our private equity and hedge fund practices.”
Baltay has experience working on cross-border financial restructurings and complex multijurisdictional asset, leveraged and project financings. She is admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. Baltay has practiced law in London, Frankfurt and Rome since 1998 and is fluent in English, French, Italian and German. She completed the Common Professional Exam and Legal Practice Course at the College of Law and obtained a Bachelor of Arts at King’s College London.
Baltay said: “I am excited to join King & Spalding’s growing financial restructuring and finance practices and look forward to building my practice here, working with Werner Meier to help build out the firm’s restructuring platform and European finance practice.”
London Office Takes Additional Space
Also, King & Spalding has secured almost 6,000 square feet of additional space on the 16th floor of its London headquarters at 125 Old Broad Street. The London office has more than doubled in total fee-earners, to 51 from 24, since the start of 2012. In addition to Baltay, the growth has included seven other lateral partners, namely, William Charnley, Egishe Dzhazoyan, Angela Hayes, Nigel Heilpern, Iain MacVay, Jane Player and Sarah Walker.
“The new space gives us about 25 per cent extra capacity to house the expanded team as well as the new lawyers that we anticipate joining the office as we continue to grow,” said Pegg.
About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.