BCLP and Taylor Wessing have bolstered their London real estate partner ranks with a pair of hires spanning private equity and tax.
BCLP has hired private equity and venture capital real estate investment partner Claibourne Harrison from Gibson Dunn, while Taylor Wessing has hired property tax expert Gemma Grunewald from DLA Piper.
Harrison is dual-qualified in Texas and England and Wales and leaves his previous firm after becoming a partner in 2021. His practice focuses on real estate-related acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, carve-outs, loan-portfolio acquisitions and other cross-border transactions. Previous clients he has worked for on deals include Cale Street Partners, PI Partners, Nuveen, PFA, WeWork and Oaktree Capital Management, among others.
His experience spans a range of asset classes, including commercial, industrial, logistics, mixed-use and digital infrastructure.
His arrival at BCLP reflects its commitment to grow its real estate practice, according to Nazir Dewji, the firm’s global real estate lead, who said: “He brings deep private equity experience and additional knowledge to the team, in an area where we are seeing increasing client demand for our full-spectrum real estate strategy.”
Harrison said he made the move due to the depth and quality of BCLP’s real estate bench in London, noting the firm’s transatlantic platform and associated European reach, praising its focus on supporting clients through the entire deal lifecycle.
Meanwhile, Grunewald – who is also a chartered tax adviser – joins as a partner after four years at DLA, where she was a legal director. She previously spent more than six years at Fladgate as a tax associate. She trained and qualified at legacy Allen & Overy.
Shane Gleghorn, Taylor Wessing’s UK managing partner, said Grunewald was “a leading real estate tax expert with strong technical capabilities and an excellent track record in advising institutional clients on complex real estate structures”.
He added: “Her arrival significantly strengthens our real estate tax practice and reinforces our commitment to growth in the real estate sector. Gemma’s knowledge of REIT structuring, fund work and cross‑border real estate taxation will add value and open new avenues for collaboration across our international teams.”
Graham Samuel-Gibbon, head of Taylor Wessing’s tax practice, said Grunewald “brings exceptional expertise across the full spectrum of real estate tax work, deep sector knowledge and a collaborative approach”.
The hire comes ahead of the firm’s planned merger with Winston & Strawn later this year. Ahead of that merger, Mayer Brown hired Taylor Wessing partners Victoria Butcher and Mark Rajbenbach.
Likewise, Harrison is not the only recent departure from Gibson Dunn, as private equity real estate partner Jeremy Kenley moved to Latham & Watkins late last year. However, the firm carried out a dual partner hire of its own from A&O Shearman last month, hiring partners Hayden Cameron and its former global head of real estate, Mark Manson-Bahr.
In response to Harrison’s exit, a Gibson Dunn spokesperson said: “We wish him well.”
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