Powerhouse Financial Restructuring Duo Unites at Paul Hastings to Expand London Team and Create Premier Global Platform

Paul Hastings LLP today announced the significant expansion of its global Financial Restructuring practice in London with the addition of star partners Bevis Metcalfe and Kieran Sharma. Their arrival from the Chambers-ranked Restructuring practices at Hogan Lovells Cadwalader and Sidley Austin, respectively, combined with Paul Hastings’ existing restructuring group of over 110 lawyers, further establish a premier global platform that builds on the firm’s Band 1 restructuring practice in the U.S. The expanded London team is expected to comprise around 20 lawyers.

A recent co-chair of the Financial Restructuring Group at Cadwalader, Metcalfe is a go-to advisor on all aspects of corporate credit, restructurings, cross-border insolvencies and distressed M&A, with particular experience advising investors in capital solutions transactions across a broad range of sectors and jurisdictions.

Sharma similarly led the London Financial Restructuring team at his prior firm and brings extensive experience advising credit funds, private capital providers and other sophisticated financial stakeholders in complex restructuring and special situations transactions in London and Hong Kong. His experience also includes time spent on the European investment team at Strategic Value Partners, a leading global investment firm, where he obtained a first-hand understanding of how credit funds assess, structure and execute distressed and special situations investments.

"Bevis and Kieran are elite additions who bring exceptional experience and deep relationships across the market. Their practices are a strategic priority as we build a premier London and Europe special situations and restructuring platform that will work closely with our Band 1 restructuring practice in the U.S.,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “Their proven track record advising on highly complex, multijurisdictional matters makes their arrival highly synergistic with our leading finance and structured credit practices and will enable us to continue to take market share at the top of the market.” 

Ranked by Chambers among the leaders in his field, Metcalfe has a creditor-focused practice representing a diverse range of investors, including banks, CLOs, multi-strategy asset managers and private credit funds in in-court and out-of-court restructurings, distressed M&A and capital solutions transactions.

Also ranked by Chambers, Sharma regularly represents clients across the capital structure in stressed and distressed situations, including liability management transactions, in-court restructurings (namely by way of U.K. Part 26A Restructuring Plans (RPs) or Part 26 Schemes of Arrangement), out-of-court restructurings, formal insolvency processes and distressed M&A transactions. He was recently named to Global Restructuring Review’s 2026 “40 under 40” list and was recognized as one of Turnaround & Workouts’ “Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyers.

 “Paul Hastings is well-known for its top-tier global restructuring practice,” said Metcalfe. “I see clear alignment between my creditor-focused practice and the firm’s strong global offerings and exceptional client relationships, and I’m looking forward to working closely with Kieran and our new corporate and finance colleagues across Europe and the U.S. to continue scaling the firm’s market-leading platform.” 

“The firm is widely recognized for advising many of the world’s most sophisticated credit funds and alternative asset managers on precedent-setting mandates,” said Sharma. “The opportunity to expand and deepen its restructuring capabilities and help clients navigate increasingly complex cross-border transactions is incredibly compelling.”

In H1 2026, Paul Hastings’ Financial Restructuring Group continued its momentum in Octus’ Most Retained Legal Advisers tables, rising three places to fifth for all engagements and retaining its No. 3 position for creditor/other engagements. It also ranked No. 4 in Debtwire’s H1 2026 Lead Counsel Rankings, which comprises both debtor and creditor engagements. In FY 2025, the firm was the No. 1 creditor advisor for both court-supervised completed mandates and court-supervised new mandates and No. 3 for out-of-court completed mandates, in 9fin's U.S. Restructuring Law Firm League Tables. Thirteen of the team’s matters were included in Turnarounds & Workouts’ “Successful Restructurings of 2025,” and the group received Turnaround Management Association awards for the FTX and WeWork restructurings. The team also was named “Restructuring Team of the Year” at the 2025 Legal Business Awards and won “Global Corporate Rescue of the Year – Legal Team” at the 2025 TRI Awards for the second consecutive year, in addition to being recognized in the Financial Times’ “Innovative Lawyers” report.

Metcalfe and Sharma’s arrival continues a period of robust expansion in London, including the strengthening of the office’s PE and M&A platform with the arrivals of Mark Zerdin from Slaughters and Ferish Patel from Cooley, and partner additions across a range of practices: Brad Weyland (High Yield); Leon Stephenson and Jennifer Passagne (Fund Finance); a four-partner team led by Lyndsey Laverack and Jade Williams-Adedeji (Private Equity and Real Estate); Jenny Doak, Alicia Osei and Catherine Richardson (Tax); Sally Evans (Antitrust); Thomas Picton (Structured Credit); David Richardson (Investment Funds); and Stephen Diosi (Employee Benefits and Incentives).

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.