In another boost for Paul Hastings’ London office, the US firm has recruited structured finance specialist Brian Maher as a partner from Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Maher, who is a Legal 500 leading individual for securitisation, will be accompanied by counsel Sophie Bainbridge and associate Emily Firmston.
This latest move marks Paul Hastings’ third significant partner hire from Weil since April, following the announcement of banking and finance partner Reena Gogna in June and arrival of Shawn Kodes, who joined the firm’s New York office as co-chair of asset-backed finance earlier in the year.
Speaking with Legal Business on the move, Maher discussed his plan to advance the London office’s asset-backed practice in line with the US firm’s New York offering.
He stated: ‘My early focus will be on building out the asset finance practice in London. I aim to complement the work that the firm is currently doing in New York in the asset-backed finance sector. We see many opportunities in both London and New York through the relationships and platform at Paul Hastings.’
Maher, who has worked with funds and financial institutions clients such as Apollo, Barclays and Deutsche Bank, added: ‘There is a continuing trend among sponsors acquiring asset-origination platforms and using asset-backed finance as their main financing tool. Many of our clients, both on the sponsor and financial institution side, engage in these types of transactions. I believe we’ll be well-positioned to work closely with these clients to capitalise on the opportunities in the market.’
Firm chair Frank Lopez added: ‘Brian is an elite structured finance lawyer with a synergistic practice that bolsters our expanding asset-backed financing and capital markets securitisation capabilities.’
Maher concluded: ‘The feedback from my clients has been overwhelmingly supportive regarding Sophie, Emily, and me moving to Paul Hastings. It’s an incredible and strong platform, and we believe it will be an excellent environment for continuing our work with existing clients. We feel very positive about the future.’