Top-20 Global 100 firms Norton Rose Fulbright and Weil, Gotshal & Manges have made significant and experienced additions to their London offices today (15 January), from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hogan Lovells respectively.
Weil Gotshal has taken on Hogan Lovells partner Chris McLaughlin to join its banking and finance practice in London.
McLaughlin has extensive experience acting for banks and borrowers on the financing of cross-border private equity buyouts as well as European real estate acquisitions and restructurings.
Weil Gotshal has made great strides in its London banking practice in recent times, taking high-yield specialist Gil Strauss from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer just over a year ago as well as leveraged finance partner Stephen Lucas from Linklaters in 2011.
However, McLaughlin’s arrival and the growing strength of its banking practice contrasts with the London office’s fortunes in its signature area of private equity. Mark Soundy and Simon Burrows left to join Shearman & Sterling in 2013, while funds partner Nick Benson left for Latham & Watkins this month.
‘We are delighted that Chris is joining Weil to further enhance the growing European finance practice. In a short space of time, Stephen Lucas and the London team, working with our teams in Paris, the rest of Europe and the US, have established a leading reputation for sophisticated leveraged finance work,’ said Barry Wolf, the firm’s executive partner.
Meanwhile Norton Rose Fulbright has hired counsel Geoff Peters from Freshfields to be a partner in its energy M&A practice in London. He has more than 15 years’ experience of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors and has worked with multinational oil and gas majors as well as national oil companies. He has completed M&A transactions around the world including in Russia, Canada, Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia.
‘We are delighted that Geoff will be joining us. Geoff’s impressive international experience complements our global presence. He will add further depth to our busy corporate oil and gas practice, and work with colleagues not only in the UK, but around the world,’ said Martin Scott, global head of corporate, M&A and securities.
david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk