Caroline Hill reports… SJ Berwin’s respected former IT director Simon Kosminsky has joined Mishcon de Reya as its chief information officer. Kosminsky was appointed as IT director at SJ Berwin in May 2000 and left the firm in May 2014 after overseeing its merger with King & Wood Mallesons, which went live in November 2013. During his time at the firm he sat on the international management committee. No stranger to merger, Kosminsky was also IT director at Wilde Sapte between 1991 and 2000, and helped oversee its merger with Dentons, which went live on 1 February 2000.
He joins Mishcon following a period of sustained growth for the top 50 firm, with revenue this year hitting £110m and profit per equity partner enjoying double digit growth to £975,000. Innovation includes launching Mishcon Private for its private clients, while it is currently creating a longer term strategy that will include further internationalisation. The firm, which became an ABS in April, is in growth mode and has made a number of recent lateral hires including Enyo Partner Annabel Thomas, Proskauer Rose partner Michael Nouril, McDermott Will & Emery partner Sharon Tan and Addleshaw Goddard partner Richard Leedham.
However, Mishcon de Reya’s managing partner, Kevin Gold, said: “We have long known that our success depends on more than just the hiring of good lawyers – we believe it is critical that we hire the best professionals across all areas of the firm. Simon’s appointment underlines our commitment to this, his track record is exceptional and we look forward to his involvement in our future.” The firm’s management is known to have strong technology buy-in and COO Bambos Georgiou was in the computer business for 17 years prior to joining Mishcon.
Neil Cameron of the Neil Cameron Consulting Group, which has a longstanding professional relationship with the firm said: “Mishcon is a very interesting and innovative law firm in many areas including technology and filling the role of CIO will be demanding. It may be in Simon Kosminsky that they have found their match.”
Kosminsky said: “I am thrilled to be joining Mishcon de Reya. The firm is going through a really exciting time and has a culture and a vision that really resonate with me.”
