Michael Kashis has this week taken up the role of managing partner CEO at Laytons ETL, the City of London international commercial law firm. He has taken over from John Abbott, who is stepping back from the managing partner role to focus on his international dispute resolution practice.

Mr Kashis has joined Laytons ETL from fellow London firm Bishop & Sewell LLP, where he was managing partner and head of corporate and commercial. He will initially be supported by Mr Abbott during a handover period.

Mr Kashis has 23 years’ experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer and has worked both in private practice and in-house for national and international organisations. He joined Bishop & Sewell in 2014 and took over as its managing partner in 2020.

In addition to his legal experience Mr Kashis holds an MBA from Imperial College London, and was involved in planning and implementing strategic changes at both a departmental and organisation-wide level at his former firm.

He said, “I am very excited to be joining such a fantastic team of lawyers with such an extensive and wide-ranging practice serving clients from every corner of the world.

“It is going to be a pleasure to be able to dedicate myself to a full-time management role and I am relishing the prospect of being able to grow the firm and fulfil its considerable potential.”

Mr Abbott, from whom Mr Kashis has taken over, joined Laytons following its merger with Silverman Sherliker LPP in 2017. He had worked for the latter firm since 1997, and served as its managing partner between 2012 and 2014.

Mr Abbott took over as Laytons’ managing partner in January 2020 and oversaw the process by which, in 2021, the firm joined ETL Global, an international professional services network which employs 20,000 people across 50 countries. Laytons ETL has a particularly high profile practice advising on multi-jurisdiction matters, and has an active client base in Europe, the US, and the Middle and Far East.

Mr Abbott said, “I am looking forward to supporting Michael in his new role as well as returning to and further developing my mediation and international arbitration practices.

“I am pleased to be able to hand over a profitable firm which is growing strongly on a sustainable footing. We have achieved a great deal over the past few years, and this would not have been possible without the dedication, support and hard work of my colleagues.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their loyalty and support throughout my term of office.”