PwC Legal has hired former Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy partner Laetitia Costa to run its banking and finance team in London.
Costa will oversee the growth and development of the firm’s banking and finance practices. Costa left Milbank one year ago, three months after her promotion to partnership.
She has over 15 years’ experience in leveraged finance, real estate and debt restructuring transactions advising arrangers, funds, private equity firms and corporations; working with clients such as Goldman Sachs, Nomura, UBS and Credit Suisse.
Before her role at Milbank, Costa worked at a range of Magic Circle and City firms. She completed her training at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before moving on to Ashurst’s Paris office for two years. From Ashurst, Costa moved to Allen & Overy’s Paris office for another two years. In a further Magic Circle move, Costa shifted to Clifford Chance’s Paris office for seven years before landing her position at Milbank.
PwC Legal head of M&A Mark Crofskey said: ‘We already have an outstanding borrower-side banking practice and Laetitia’s experience strongly complements both that and our M&A practice.’
Earlier this year PwC Legal made two key hires with the appointment of pensions partner David Farmer who joined from DLA Piper and corporate partner Thomas Colmer who was previously with Osborne Clarke.
The move comes as legal spin-outs from big four accountantcy firms continue to pose a significant threat to the mid-market.
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk
Read more on the rise of the accountants in: ‘Coming Soon – assessing the big forces shaping the future of law’