• A team of eleven lawyers from EY have left the firm to join Hunton Andrews Kurth, a US law firm.
• US law firms are expanding their presence in the UK to serve global clients.
• EY's legal division has cut jobs over the past year and is reportedly considering restructuring.

Eleven lawyers from the Big Four firm EY have been poached by the London office of Hunton Andrews Kurth, a US law firm.

The team of departees includes Charles Morrison, a partner and former head of EY's energy-services team; three other partners; a counsel; a consultant; and five associates, the firm said in a statement. They will focus on transactions in the energy sector.

Hunton Andrews Kurth is an energy and infrastructure specialist. It's the 70th-largest law firm in the US by employee numbers, with 754 lawyers in 2023, according to Law.com.

Sam Danon, Hunton Andrews Kurth's managing partner, said that the group "aligns well with our international growth strategy, which is focused on ensuring that we've achieved critical mass in key practices, in core industry focus areas and in geographies where client demand is strong."

Hunton Andrews Kurth has seen demand for its services rise in recent years. Law.com said the firm's revenue rose by 3.5% to $823 million in 2023.

The team's move also plays into a wider trend in the industry — the growing presence of US law firms in the UK. Firms like Latham & Watkins have been building their UK teams to leverage their American client bases in Europe, often poaching staff from legacy British establishments.

Ferdinand Calice, a managing partner of Hunton Andrews Kurth's London office, said the energy-focused corporate and disputes teams in London had "experienced tremendous growth" in the past year.

Since August 2023, more than two dozen lawyers, including two more former EY staffers, have been added to the London office.

EY's legal division in the UK has been struggling. In the past year, the firm has closed down a business unit and held several rounds of layoffs, Financial News reported.

In October, sources told the paper that EY was reviewing the future of its legal arm in the region, considering further layoffs and a joint venture deal with a major international law firm.

EY recorded its poorest performance since 2010 this year, with global revenue rising 3.9% on the previous year to $51.2 billion — a decline on the 16% growth recorded the year before. The slowdown has also hit fellow its Big Four firms: PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte.

EY did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Do you work in the legal division at one of the Big Four firms? Contact this reporter in confidence at [email protected].