Addleshaw elects Middle East head as managing partner

Addleshaw Goddard has elected Andrew Johnston, head of its Middle East & Asia practice, as its managing partner for a four year term from 1 May 2024.

Succeeding John Joyce, who will step down a year early from his third term after a decade in office, Mr Johnston joined Addleshaw Goddard in 2013 to lead the firm's M&A practice in the Middle East. He has been a board member since 2014, and was appointed Head of Middle East & Asia in 2019. 

His appointment is the first time in its history that a partner based outside the UK has been elected managing partner of Addleshaw Goddard, whose UK offices include Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Mr Joyce's tenure has seen Addleshaw Goddard mergers in Scotland with HBJ in 2017 and Ireland's Eugene F Collins in 2022, as well as offices opening in Germany, France and Luxembourg. Partner numbers have risen from 178 to 386, income from £166m in 2013-14 to £443m in 2022-23, and profits by more than 200%.

However Mr Johnston declared his ambition for the firm to double in size again by 2030. "I am looking forward to the firm capitalising on the strong platform created under John's leadership and using it as a springboard for greater success", he said. "We will continue to invest where clients need us the most and I will be giving as much focus as I can to ensuring that we flourish as a thriving global business, dominant across the UK, with greater influence in the City, and even more famous for high-quality imaginative, impactful advice that delivers real competitive advantage."