King & Spalding Recruits UK/European Tax Specialist Daniel Friel in London

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - March 12, 2015) - King & Spalding has recruited UK/European tax specialist Daniel Friel as a partner in its international tax practice in the London office. Previously, Friel was a partner and vice chair of the tax and benefits practice at Latham & Watkins. 

"We are excited that Daniel has joined the firm," said Abraham N.M. Shashy, leader of King & Spalding's tax practice group. "His tax expertise and extensive experience in building European tax practices at his previous firms make him a natural fit to help expand our European tax practices in London, Frankfurt and Paris." 

Friel has close to 30 years' experience as a broad-based tax lawyer advising clients on complex, multi-jurisdictional tax planning matters, including cross-border mergers, disposals and acquisitions principally in the UK, US and Europe, tax-related financing and structuring and international structured finance transactions. He has represented many London Stock Exchange 100 companies, banks, private equity firms, creditor committees, sovereign wealth funds and high-net-worth individuals. Friel qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand (now part of PwC) before becoming a lawyer. 

Friel has worked for clients including SAB Miller, ITV, JPMorgan, Carlyle and the Qatar Investment Authority. He is also ranked in both Chambers Global and Legal 500.

"Daniel is a respected and well-recognized tax practitioner in London and Europe. He adds depth to our London tax practice and we are pleased to welcome him to our City team," said Garry Pegg, managing partner of King & Spalding's London office.

Friel said: "King & Spalding's commitment to building out its international network presents a perfect opportunity for growing my practice. I look forward to working with my new international corporate, finance and tax colleagues around the world to help the firm grow its global tax practice." 

Friel becomes the third tax partner in King & Spalding's London office, joining Kevin Conway and John Taylor. Friel is also the fifth lateral partner to join the office since November 2014, following Elisabeth Baltay from Bingham McCutchen, Tom O'Neill from Linklaters, Markus Bauman from Latham & Watkins and Stuart Isaacs QC from Berwin Leighton Paisner. Friel brings the total number of partners in King & Spalding's London office to 21.

About King & Spalding
Celebrating more than 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com.