Mayer Brown recruits James Perrott to lead mobility & migration practice in Europe

Mayer Brown has expanded its Global Mobility & Migration practice with the addition of James Perrott as counsel in London. James, an experienced UK immigration lawyer, will lead the firm’s Mobility & Migration practice in Europe. James was formerly senior counsel and head of the UK immigration practice at Macfarlanes.

“Our Global Mobility & Migration practice is focused on helping clients navigate a myriad of legal and compliance requirements in order to manage and deploy an increasingly flexible workforce across borders,” said Liz Espín Stern, partner and head of the Global Mobility & Migration practice at Mayer Brown. “At a time when we have just passed the first 100 days of Brexit and in light of the of the ongoing effects of the global pandemic, we are delighted to be joined by a lawyer of James’ calibre to help support our clients with these significant regulatory and workforce challenges. James’ first-rate experience in immigration, and proven leadership and client development skills will serve to enhance our capabilities at a time when we are seeing increasing client demand. It is an exciting time to join the firm and I look forward to working with James to continue the expansion of our European team.”

James acts for private and corporate clients across a variety of sectors on UK inbound immigration matters. His practice includes advising on policy, processes and compliance and regulatory issues. In addition, James frequently advises clients on the impact of regulatory changes following Brexit, both in the UK and across Europe. Whilst at Macfarlanes, James established the UK immigration practice and played a key role in its expansion.

Chris Fisher, head of the London Employment practice at Mayer Brown, added: “Workforce mobility and migration management is increasingly challenging due to changing regulatory and compliance requirements. Clients are also grappling with transformational market changes and accelerated planning around the future of work following the Covid-19 pandemic and the unprecedented move to remote working. Against this backdrop, James will be a great asset to the global practice. He is commercial, technically excellent and brings nearly 20 years’ experience in immigration and migration solutions to the firm.”

Sally Davies, London Managing Partner at Mayer Brown, said: “We continue to make key hires in areas that strengthen our regional teams and also further our ability to deliver a seamless, global service to our clients. James is an excellent example of this. He has an outstanding track record and is the perfect person to lead the European Mobility & Migration team.”

James joins Mayer Brown’s Global Mobility & Migration team, which has more than 50 lawyers around the world. Together they advise a range of clients — including start-ups, Fortune 500 companies and high-net-worth individuals — on immigration, relocation, and migration-related regulatory, compliance and tax issues.