Willkie Farr & Gallagher has hired a five partner-strong asset management team from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader in London and Washington DC.
The incoming team are Ed Harris and Charlotte Monk in London and Adam Brown, Caitlin Piper and Michael Rogers in Washington. They advise on private equity and fund transactions, including secondaries, GP-led transactions, co-investments and liquidity solutions.
Matthew Feldman, Willkie chairman, said: “The growth of the secondaries market and GP-led liquidity solutions is creating significant opportunities for our clients, who increasingly require sophisticated advice across the US, UK and Europe, and globally.
“Ed, Adam and their colleagues bring extensive experience advising on some of the most complex transactions in this space. Their arrival significantly enhances our transatlantic capabilities and reinforces our ability to support sponsors and investors across private markets.”
Harris joins after six and a half years at Hogan Lovells, where he was head of private equity and funds. That was his second spell at the firm, following a short stint at Paul Hastings. He also previously practised at legacy firm SJ Berwin and at Freshfields. He advises private equity firms, institutional investors and companies on private M&A, joint ventures, co-investments, secondaries, GP-led transactions and leveraged buyouts.
Like Harris, Brown also arrives after two spells at Hogan Lovells, punctuated by an 11-month stint at Paul Hastings. He advises private investment fund sponsors and their portfolio companies on M&A, co-investments, GP-led liquidity solutions, preferred equity offerings and secondaries transactions, including fund recapitalisations and restructurings.
Monk joins after six and a half years at Hogan Lovells, where she made partner in January this year. She rejoined the firm in 2020 from Clifford Chance where she spent just over two years, having previously spent almost three and a half years at Hogan Lovells, two of them as a trainee. Her specialism is secondaries and GP-led transactions.
Piper arrives after almost a decade at Hogan Lovells, having joined in 2017 from Davis Polk & Wardwell. She made partner at the start of last year. She advises on M&A-related tax matters and secondaries transactions.
Rogers, who made partner at Hogan Lovells in January, advises secondary buyers and sellers, fund sponsors and institutional investors on LP-led secondaries and GP-led restructurings, among other fund-related deals.
Harris said: “Willkie’s commitment to asset management, deep transactional bench and focus on continued growth make this a particularly exciting move for our team. We see significant opportunities to build on the firm’s existing asset management and private equity strengths and develop its transatlantic offering for private equity firms, institutional investors and corporate clients.”
The team’s departure from Hogan Lovells follows its merger with Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, which went live in July. The firm also lost an 11-lawyer fund finance team to Sidley Austin in New York in August.
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
