Paul Hastings’ London hires partner duo
In pursuit of growth in London and New York, the Los Angeles firm continues to recruit lateral hires
A new partner from CMS and another from Morgan Lewis & Bockius have joined Paul Hastings in a week. It has also made major new hires in New York to help expand its London practice.
The Los Angeles-based firm announced that Jason Brookes and Tom Cartwright will be joining its UK private equity and structured credit teams respectively.
As Gibson Dunn looks to grow in both global financial centers, their hires, following the arrival by Eduardo Gallardo, Gibson Dunn’s global M&A co-chair earlier this month.
As a partner in CMS’s financial services and products group, Brookes joins Paul Hastings‘ City firm after six years there. The London office’s structured credit offering will be enhanced by Brookes’ involvement with collateralised loan obligations lead by Cameron Saylor and restructuring and finance lawyers Mei Lian and David Ereira.
It is listed on the firm’s website that Paul Hastings has nine structured credit lawyers in the London office. Last year, the firm had 116 CLO transactions that accounted for around 50 percent of market opportunities, outlining its top position in league tables by market share.
In addition to its strong growth in London, Paul Hastings’ dominant position in areas like CLOs demonstrates its ambition for the future and Brookes is thrilled to be a part of this dynamic.
As for Cartwright, he has moved on from Morgan Lewis where he spent eight years as a partner. Prior to that, he worked for Taylor Wessing for six years. In addition to offering counsel to sovereign wealth funds, private equity sponsors and family offices, Cartwright also assists with M&As and PE investments.
“Tom is a talented lawyer with a national reputation and intellectual capital that align with our international brand and culture,” firm chairman Seth Zachary said.
Earlier this year, Cartwright helped carry out a number of important transactions, including the $1.77bn sales of White Mountains Insurance Group’s NSM Insurance Group to Carlyle Group funds.
As part of this elite firm with an international private equity platform and an entrepreneurial spirit, Cartwright said he was eager to provide clients with the services they will find at this firm.
As part of its expansion strategy, Paul Hastings’ London office grew its headcount by 16 percent last year, reaching 150 legal staff, specializing in funds, finance, M&A/PE, investigations and white collar defence.
As a result, the office achieved its best financial performance to date, bringing in $152.7 million in revenue in 2021 after previously earning $108.6 million in revenue.
We received six new lawyers from White & Case last year: partnership duos Jonathan Pickworth and Joanna Dimmock joined the team in January, followed by newly-minted partner Rebecca Copcutt and three associates in May.
As part of the firm’s leveraged finance practice, former Latham & Watkins partner Adrian Chiodo was added two months after Dentons funds partner Ted Craig joined in October.
Meanwhile, Paul Hastings’ New York business is also experiencing growth, especially since it hired an 18-partner restructuring team from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in March.