LONDON, January 27, 2025: Adding practice depth and breadth in its London office, Morgan Lewis today welcomes antitrust and competition lawyer Paul Johnson from Baker McKenzie and structured finance lawyer Dasha Sobornova from Akin Gump.
Paul represents clients in a range of competition matters, including advocating for clients before the UK Competition and Markets Authority and the European Commission. Dasha advises arrangers, investment managers, investors, and corporate service providers on an array of UK- and EU-related securitization and structured finance work, with a particular focus on representing lenders in collateralized loan obligation (CLO) transactions.
“With stabilizing interest rates driving increased deal flow in an environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny, London continues to be a key global regulatory, financial, and enforcement hub,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Paul and Dasha’s extensive knowledge of EU and UK regulations, coupled with their deep understanding of financial and industry dynamics, will bring immediate benefit to our clients as they navigate this evolving landscape while seeking to capitalize on opportunities that advance their business interests.”
“It’s an exciting time to be welcoming new team members in London as we deepen our bench across practices with talented lawyers whose skills and perspectives complement existing capabilities while strengthening our ability to deliver exceptional service to our clients,” said London Office Managing Partner Nick Bolter. “Paul and Dasha’s command in their respective disciplines, grounded in their collegial and collaborative approach, will be a welcome addition to serve our clients in London, Europe, and around the world.”
Over the last year, the firm has substantially expanded in London with the addition of intellectual property partner Tim Powell; a life sciences duo of IP partner Hiroshi Sheraton and M&A partner Luciana Griebel; secondaries partner Ted Craig; and former UK privacy and cybersecurity regulatory official Vishnu Shankar, who also adds to the firm’s capabilities in Brussels. The firm also added a 54-lawyer strong cross-practice team in Paris from Kramer Levin in January 2025 and has doubled its number of lawyers in Germany, with offices now in Frankfurt and Munich.
Paul Johnson has been practicing EU and UK competition law in London and Brussels for almost two decades, working with clients to solve their competition law issues in the EU, UK, and around the world. He has deep experience in all areas of EU and UK competition law, as well as multijurisdictional merger control and foreign investment review. Paul has experience in various industries, with a particular focus on life sciences and technology.
Dasha Sobornova works on a variety of CLO investments, including advising fund managers in structuring and documenting novel fund finance arrangements. She also advises on residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), derivative, and credit fund transactions. Her practice extends to restructurings of pre-crisis RMBS transactions as well as advising corporate services providers in relation to the replacement of downgraded agent banks and defaulted hedge providers. Beyond her deep transactional knowledge, Dasha serves as a regulatory advisor in the context of all types of securitization structures, which is informed by her extensive knowledge of both the EU and UK Securitization Regulations.