Leah Dunlop

Leah
Dunlop

Equity Partner

Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between. Maya Angelou

Leah advises clients on complex domestic and cross-border transactions and projects, including M&A, Private Equity, strategic alliances, and reorganizations, with a consolidated track record in regulated sectors such as Automotive, Consumer, Energy & Natural Resources, Financial Institutions and Industrials.
The corporate and financial investors she advises benefit from her global outlook, gained over her 35+ year career straddling the United Kingdom and Italy, seasoned deal-making skills and her talent for project management to help overcome the obstacles and close their projects, on time and within budget.

Leah joined the firm in September 2022.
Leah qualified as a solicitor in Hogan Lovells’ London office, where she was a founding member of its Private Equity practice and became a partner in 1991. In 2000, Leah relocated to Rome to support the opening and development of Hogan Lovells’ Italian offices.

Hall of Fame for Commercial, Corporate and M&A; Recommended Lawyer for Energy
Ranked Lawyer for Corporate M&A
Ranked Lawyer for Corporate M&A
Highly recommended for M&A: Large Cap Transactions

"Leah Dunlop is very pragmatic, thorough and resourceful." Chambers Global 2026

"Leah Dunlop is one of the most insightful and pragmatic attorneys I know, boiling complex cross-border transactions down to digestible topics with clear options and outcomes." Chambers Global 2025

"She is fantastic at handling everything. She manoeuvres between cross-border matters easily" Chambers Global 2024

"She is one of the most trusted and appreciated lawyers for us both in Europe and worldwide" Chambers Global 2024

"The standout partner is Leah Dunlop, who is technically excellent, very familiar with clients’ companies and how they work, and in general a pleasure to work with for both in-house lawyers and company executives" The Legal 500 EMEA 2024

“Wonderful to work with… a star when wrestling a difficult acquisition into fruition” The Legal 500 EMEA 2022

“Clients confirm her legal knowledge is exceptional and her advice is clear and timely” Chambers Global 2022

"Very experienced… and predisposed to teamwork in an organized and structured way... offers very high levels of competence and expertise" The Legal 500 EMEA 2022 - Energy

EDUCATION

Law Society Finals, The College of Law, Chester, 1982
Bachelor of Law (Hons), University of Southampton, 1981

PROFESSIONAL ORDER

England & Wales (Solicitor)

Italy (Rome bar)

LANGUAGES

Italian, English

Leah is a member of the City of London Solicitors’ Company, and of the Economic Association of Mexico in Italy. A passionate supporter of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and beyond, she also participates in The Charge of the 101’ers, an Italian non-profit initiative created in 2020 by over 100 women business leaders and professionals to support female-led start-ups in their growth strategy.