Paul Hastings has made a significant private equity play at the expense of Hogan Lovells, hiring a three-partner transatlantic team.
Ed Harris – who led Hogan Lovell’s private equity practice in the City – joins alongside Leanne Moezi in London, while Virginia-based partner Adam Brown joins Paul Hastings’ Washington office.
Harris had been at Hogan Lovells since 2013 after joining from SJ Berwin and was one of only three private equity transactional partners in the UK, having forged lucrative relationships with clients such as private equity house Pantheon Ventures.
Moezi also brings experience advising private equity houses, companies and financial institutions and was well-regarded at Hogan Lovells. In 2018, M&A and private equity accounted for 23% of the Hogan Lovell’s total revenue.
The trio are set to be reunited with former Hogan Lovells M&A partner Steven Bryan who decamped to Paul Hastings in March. Last year, the firm tapped Linklaters for M&A veteran Roger Barron and hired private equity rising star Anu Balasubramanian (pictured) from DLA Piper, with expansion in transactional practices a defining part of the firm’s City recruitment strategy.
Balasubramanian told Legal Business: ‘We’ve been targeting the private equity space since the day I arrived. Ed and his team have a very good reputation in the market and the hires have a great overlap with our funds practice.’
Paul Hastings enjoyed strong revenue growth in its last financial year, as City revenue hiked 14% while global revenues rose 9%. Meanwhile, profit per equity partner broke the £3m barrier, rising 12% to $3.25m.
