Danos Group has acquired Gibson Limburn – and we’re already benefiting both firms and professionals
As many of my contacts will already know, Danos Associates acquired my business, Gibson Limburn Search in January 2017. After our first successful quarter, I want to talk a little more about how this exciting development came about and the benefits it’s created for both the organisations and the professionals we work with in the specialist financial services legal space.
An ideal match
Increasingly in the financial services field, Legal and Compliance professionals are answering to the same heads of department (and even if not, working very closely) in both banks and financial institutions.
Given these closely aligned hiring needs and skillsets and the way Legal and Compliance functions are becoming increasingly interconnected, it made huge sense to begin discussions with Danos Associates in mid-2016 about joining forces to offer a greater service to both clients and candidates. The synergy between the businesses was immediately apparent, and the acquisition was completed in January 2017.
This has allowed Danos Associates to establish a Legal business and further extend its offering to its clients and existing network of professionals – many of whom are lawyers – and for me to connect with a broader cross-section of clients on behalf of my existing networks.
Still finding hard-to-get talent
The focus of the business at Gibson Limburn was always transactional and regulatory lawyers, including both those within technical product disciplines and those whose subject matter is inherently technical in this ever-adapting regulatory environment. This remains the case at Danos Associates.
For Compliance and Legal hiring managers, finding talented individuals with highly specialised skills in an already niche discipline – for example, a lawyer with equity derivatives experience in CPPI and Proprietary Indices – is an inherently difficult task, presenting roadblocks time and again, and we specialise in these hard-to-fill roles.
More opportunities for talent
Danos Associates’ Legal practice deals with a mixed client base, such that we are able to offer the right opportunities to lawyers with transactional and regulatory expertise. We work with investment banks, broker-dealers, large asset managers, hedge funds, private equity funds, prop trading houses, insurers, brokers and FinTech businesses. So, whether talented lawyers seek career progress, a job on the cutting edge or a flexible working environment, we can connect individuals with the best fit for them.
Greater access to specialists for organisations
The disciplines in which we specialise include derivatives across all asset classes, Financial Services Regulatory, Funds, Trade and Asset Finance and Corporate/Commercial Insurance. For firms looking for highly technical skillsets, Danos Associates’ Legal practice now has access to a larger pool of candidates across Legal and Compliance skillsets.
Our current reach and future plans
For the present, we operate primarily in the London market, though a successful Q1 has already seen assignments across Asia Pacific, the US and the Middle-East. For the future, we intend to expand both in London and across all our offices and create a tailored private practice offering specific financial disciplines within law.
If you need to fill a specialist legal role, get in touch on +44 (0) 203 889 5758 or jlimburn@danosassociates.com
