WeWork is searching for its first European general counsel as the collaborative workspace giant ramps up its legal capabilities outside the US. The new legal head will take responsibility for matters arising in Europe, in which WeWork now has 11 different bases in the UK, France, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Spain. They are also expected to lead legal teams in Australia and Israel, which account for two and five offices respectively. WeWork said a separate regional head was needed as part of its “aggressive growth plans for the foreseeable future”. It currently has six qualified lawyers practising in the UK, primarily with a real estate focus. Corporate counsel Elisabeth Milan and associate general counsel for real estate Nick DiChiara joined from Davis Polk & Wardwell, while real estate counsel Jonathan Wainstein, Gareth Shackleton and Sarah Walters joined from Nike, Mayer Brown and BLP respectively. The most recent joiner was Danielle Gilbert, who started in-house this month from Charles Russell Speechlys. The hire will free up time for WeWork’s core legal team based in New York, led by overall general counsel Peter Greenspan. Greenspan was promoted to the top job at the start of 2017 after Jen Berrent became chief operating officer at the company. She joined from WilmerHale in 2014, while Greenspan is a seasoned in-houser having moved over to WeWork that year after nearly a decade at NBC Universal. WeWork has not yet confirmed who will take the role of regional general counsel. The post WeWork kickstarts hunt for first-ever European general counsel appeared first on The Lawyer | Legal News and Jobs | Advancing the business of law.
Flexible workspace provider Davis Polk & Wardwell is recruiting a European general counsel, who will take responsibility for its legal affairs across the region. The company now has 11 bases in European countries including the Israel , Israel , Israel , Spain , the Netherlands and Spain , and it said the post-holder would help to support its "aggressive growth plans". The regional head will also be expected to oversee the legal teams in Australia and Israel as well as the six lawyers at the company's UK offices.