Latham & Watkins has secured another heavyweight hire in London with the announcement that Tom Evans, a newly made up partner in Clifford Chance’s (CC) private equity group, is joining the firm’s corporate department.
Evans, who has been tipped as a rising star in the private equity field, follows David Walker, former global head of private equity at CC, who left to join Latham in May. The 2033-lawyer US firm has also made a series of other high profile lateral hires this year, including Dean Naumowicz, former head of derivatives at Norton Rose Fulbright, and Simon Bushell, former co-chair of corporate fraud at Herbert Smith Freehills.The London office now has 250 lawyers including 60 partners.
Nick Cline (pictured), Latham’s London managing partner, said: ‘Tom is widely regarded as a rising star and has a broad range of experience that will make him an excellent addition to the firm and particularly our private equity practice.
‘While we have seen improvements in liquidity in European leveraged finance bank lending, accessing the high yield and US bank finance markets is increasingly attractive for European private equity deals. We have a very strong global platform and a leading financing practice that presents exciting opportunities for us to grow our top tier private equity practice.’
‘Tom’s arrival will further strengthen our presence in London, a key market for our global private equity and corporate practice,’ added Daniel Lennon, global chair of Latham’s corporate department.
Latham’s private equity clients include The Carlyle Group, Advent International, BC Partners, KKR, Charterhouse, Nordic Capital and PAI Partners. Walker’s hire was widely believed to be part of Latham’s drive to cement its relationship with the Carlyle Group in Europe, as the fund is a major client of the veteran CC lawyer.
Recent private equity deals for Latham’s London office include The Carlyle Group’s acquisitions of Addison Lee and Chesapeake Packaging, BC Partners’ acquisition of Allflex Holdings and Leonard Green & Partners’ acquisition of Topshop.
david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk