Weil has hired private equity partner Rebecca Ward in London from Freshfields, as the firm moves to restock its bench following a wave of senior departures on both sides of the Atlantic.
Ward has joined after four years at Freshfields, before which she spent 17 years at elite private equity boutique Dickson Minto.
She advises private equity houses and corporates on leveraged buyouts, acquisitions and disposals, private acquisitions, carve-outs, co-investments and restructurings. Last year she led the Freshfields team that advised BP on the sale of a majority stake in its Castrol lubricant business to Stonepeak at an enterprise value of $10bn. She has also worked with BC Partner and PAI Partners on a numerous deals.
Ward's hire comes at a time of significant churn in Weil’s US and UK partnerships, which have seen a clutch of high-profile defections in recent months. In London the exits have included office co-head David Avery-Gee and fellow corporate partner Sarah Flaherty to Sullivan & Cromwell and M&A partner Murray Cox to Simpson Thacher, with London finance head Tom Richards also in talks to join the firm.
Simpson Thacher also confirmed earlier this month it had hired five private equity partners from Weil across London and New York, just a few months after Weil's private equity co-head, Chris Machera, exited for Paul Weiss alongside a three-partner team.
The firm said Ward's hire formed part of a broader strategy to deepen its European private equity bench, pointing in particular to Paris and Germany, where it has added 11 partners since the end of last year and more than doubled the size of its private equity practice. Recent German hires include partners Olga Stürmer from Freshfields and David Jansen from Willkie.
Marco Compagnoni, London-based co-head of Weil’s global private equity practice, said Ward as a “hugely respected private equity partner with a reputation for excellence in the London market."
He added: “Having worked with her, I have seen first-hand the trusted relationships she builds with clients and the quality of her advice. We are delighted to welcome her to the firm as part of the growth across our European private equity practice.”
The firm has moved quickly to replenish its partnership, adding at least 14 partners across banking and finance, restructuring, corporate, litigation, funds, tax and regulatory transactions alongside six partner hires into its private equity practice including Ward.
Last month it announced that Peter Feist had rejoined from Cravath Swaine & Moore to co-lead its US private equity team, while in August private equity partners Jonathan Stott and Michael Hanna were hired in San Francisco from Dechert and Kirkland & Ellis, respectively.
A Freshfields spokesperson commented: “We wish Rebecca all the best.”
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