David, who will be based in the firm’s London office, will join the firm on 1 May 2021 from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where he has been a partner since 1997 and led their global finance team between 2012-2016. David’s practice covers real estate finance, acquisition finance and corporate treasury matters. He advises borrowers and lenders on complex multi-jurisdictional transactions and in recent years has worked on many restructurings in both the real estate and leveraged finance fields.

David succeeds Martin Bartlam who has held the role for nearly five years. In addition to client work, Martin will be focusing on how technology can improve delivery of legal services and ways the firm can support clients with their financial technology initiatives. Martin will work alongside David to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Commenting on the appointment, Olaf Schmidt, Managing Director of Practice Groups at DLA Piper, said: “As the firm evolves, David’s fresh perspectives, exceptional leadership experience and deep market knowledge perfectly complement our strategy for the Finance, Projects & Restructuring group. I am confident that David will be a real asset to our leadership team and build on the significant success the practice has seen across both complex and global mandates. Under Martin’s leadership, the team has made huge strides in helping our clients succeed. I would like to thank Martin for his great work and look forward to continuing to work with him.”