Laytons ETL, the City of London international commercial law firm,
has appointed Michael Kashis as managing partner CEO. He takes over from
managing partner John Abbott, who is stepping back to focus on his
international dispute resolution practice.
Mr Kashis joins from fellow London firm Bishop
& Sewell LLP, where he was managing partner and head of corporate and
commercial. His appointment takes effect from 11 April 2023, and he will
initially be supported by Mr Abbott during a handover period.
Mr Kashis has 23 years’ experience as a
corporate and commercial lawyer and has worked both in private practice and
in-house for national and international organisations. He joined Bishop &
Sewell in 2014 and took over as its managing partner in 2020.
In addition to his legal experience Mr Kashis
holds an MBA from Imperial College London, and was involved in planning and
implementing strategic changes at both a departmental and organisation-wide
level at his former firm.
He said, 'I am very
excited to be joining such a fantastic team of lawyers with such an extensive
and wide-ranging practice serving clients from every corner of the world.
'It is going to be
a pleasure to be able to dedicate myself to a full-time management role and I
am relishing the prospect of being able to grow the firm and fulfil its
considerable potential.'
Mr Abbott, from whom Mr Kashis will take over,
joined Laytons following its merger with Silverman Sherliker LPP in 2017. He
had worked for the latter firm since 1997, and served as its managing partner
between 2012 and 2014.
Mr Abbott took over as Laytons’ managing
partner in January 2020 and oversaw the process by which, in 2021, the firm
joined ETL Global, an international professional services network which employs
20,000 people across 50 countries. Laytons ETL has a particularly high profile
advising on multi-jurisdiction matters, and has an active client base in
Europe, the US, and the Middle and Far East.
Mr Abbott said, 'I
am looking forward to supporting Michael in his new role as well as returning
to and further developing my mediation and international arbitration practices.
'I am pleased to be
able to hand over a profitable firm which is growing strongly on a sustainable
footing. We have achieved a great deal over the past few years, and this would
not have been possible without the dedication, support and hard work of my
colleagues.
'I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their loyalty and support throughout my term of office.'
