Following the announcement last September that Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) corporate partner Patrick Somers had joined DLA Piper, the top five Global 100 firm today (28 February) confirmed it has secured a further three lateral hires, including head of real estate finance Laurence Rogers.
Rogers joins the 4,036-lawyer firm alongside commercial real estate partner Richard Hopkinson-Woolley and corporate tax partner Neville Wright.
Rogers’ departure, which comes days after Adam Dann was appointed as BLP’s head of finance, specialises in all aspects of property finance including investment, development and structured finance, both on UK and pan-European deals for the syndicated and securitisation markets.
Hopkinson-Woolley, meanwhile, advises a range of clients, from international investors and developers, banks and real estate funds to small private property companies and high-net-worth individuals.
Wright specialises in property tax and has experience in M&A, structured finance and corporate reorganisations.
Sir Nigel Knowles, global co-chief executive, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Richard, Laurence and Neville to DLA Piper. The real estate market both in the UK and internationally has been growing steadily for the last year and this trend looks set to continue. The addition of this impressive team is a significant step in the implementation of the firm’s strategic commitment to the real estate sector.’
The appointments follow a run of lateral hires from BLP by top 10 Global 100 firm Jones Day, which this month took on its former head of restructuring and insolvency Ben Larkin, the third BLP partner to join Jones Day in under six months after private equity partners Raymond McKeeve and Michael Weir.
David.stevenson@legalease.co.uk