Legal Private Practice


We specialise in hires for elite US firms, as well as mid-tier and boutique practices. Covering hires from Associate to Partner level, we provide a service which is London centric but with a global reach. Our approach is content led and focused on specialist market insights to provide comprehensive value to candidates and clients. We are practice agnostic but focused on servicing the requirements of big law.

Our Private Practice division assists all firms across the London market, focusing on the elite US, Magic/Silver Circle, and International Firms with hires from Associate to Partner. Additionally, we support the European, American, Asian and UAE markets.

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Seniority Levels:

Associate

Senior Associate

Managing Associate

Legal Director

Counsel

Partner

Contact Us

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Matthew Simmons

Managing Director

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Alastair Brunton

Consultant, Legal Commerce & Industry and Legal Private Practice


Matthew Simmons

Managing Director

Matthew founded Simmons & Hanbury in 2018. He has advised on executive search and legal consultancy services for many global listed corporations over the last two decades. Prior to establishing Simmons & Hanbury, Matthew held various senior leadership positions, including head of legal practice and head of legal consulting practice at other global search firms. Over the course of his career he has developed an extensive network of cross-border candidates and clients within financial services.

Matthew has in-depth expertise within the financial services sector and has successfully completed search assignments for some of the most prestigious financial services firms in the world. This includes banks, investment funds, private equity houses and leading law firms. In addition, he has completed numerous assignments for corporations across a range of industries. He also leads several high-profile general counsel networking events.

Before moving into executive search, Matthew obtained a Master’s degree in Business Management & Marketing at the University of Westminster.


Alastair Brunton

Consultant, Legal Commerce & Industry and Legal Private Practice

Alastair joined Simmons & Hanbury in January 2023 to work in the Legal Corporates Practice. He has worked in legal search for several years, with a background in both Private Practice and In-house, specialising in placing Commercial, Data Privacy and IP lawyers. His client base ranges from leading professional services companies, global consumer brands and several FTSE listed businesses. Prior to joining Simmons & Hanbury, Alastair worked within the Legal team at a leading global search firm.