Jonathan Cooklin joins Davis Polk in London from Freshfields
Davis Polk today announced that Jonathan Cooklin, one of the U.K.’s most highly regarded tax lawyers, will join the firm as a partner in its London office. Mr. Cooklin’s addition continues the firm’s development of an elite English law team to complement its unsurpassed U.S. law practice in London and further expand its existing English law offerings in the key global markets of Hong Kong and São Paulo. Along with Simon Witty, one of London’s preeminent capital markets lawyers, Mr. Cooklin continues to expand the services Davis Polk can offer to clients in the U.K. and globally on complex securities, mergers and acquisitions and trans-border transactions.
Mr. Cooklin joins Davis Polk from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, where he has been a partner since 2001. Ranked in the highest band for Tax by Chambers U.K., he regularly advises FTSE 100 companies and major financial institutions on the tax aspects of a wide range of corporate transactions. Mr. Cooklin was also head of Freshfields’ insurance tax group in London.
“Jonathan is another exceptional addition to our growing English law practice,” said Thomas J. Reid, Davis Polk’s managing partner. “He brings critical U.K. tax planning and corporate capabilities of the very highest calibre, further consolidating our position as a single source of English law advice for companies looking to execute transactions in the U.K. and elsewhere globally. Along with Simon and our team of outstanding partners in London, Jonathan’s tax expertise will help drive the expansion of our English law capabilities, both with additional strategic lateral hires and through the development of our own highly talented English-law-qualified lawyers.”
“It has been a privilege to have worked at Freshfields for over 19 years. I am now thrilled to be joining Davis Polk and to be among the vanguard of lawyers that is building an English law practice in London that mirrors the extraordinary quality of the firm’s practice worldwide,” said Mr. Cooklin.