Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett has strengthened its London bench with the hiring of two financial and credit partners from US rival Weill Gotshal & Manges.
Simpson Thatcher said Paul Hibbert and Emma Sarginson will focus on financing and credit issues, particularly across the infrastructure sector.
Hibbert, who previously practiced at Baker McKenzie and Clifford Chance, joins the 900-lawyer firm after spending nearly seven years as a partner at Weill.
Recognized by the Ranking Guide as a leading lawyer in both banking, finance and infrastructure, we advise corporates, PE sponsors and their portfolio companies on complex acquisitions across infrastructure sectors including digital, transportation, energy and energy transition. We provide advice on leveraged finance issues. social infrastructure. At Weil, he worked with clients such as Macquarie Asset Management, APG Asset Management, and Omers Infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sarginson was previously seconded to JPMorgan's credit products legal team in London, where he focused on infrastructure, leveraged acquisition finance, domestic and cross-border debt, and other corporate finance transactions. We are conducting business with . She joined the firm in 2018 as an associate from Ropes & Gray, and earlier this year she became a partner at Weil.
“Paul is widely recognized for his technical proficiency and commercial acumen in credit trading across infrastructure asset classes, from regulated utilities and energy transition to digital and social infrastructure, and Emma is a rising star in the field. ” said co-director Amy Mahon. About Simpson Thatcher's Energy and Infrastructure Practice. “They will complement our expanding finance team, particularly in London, and our growing global energy and infrastructure business.”
Simpson Thatcher's London Infrastructure team works with investment firms such as KKR and Stonepeak and regularly advises on high-value cross-border M&A across a wide range of sectors, including telecoms and energy. The team also regularly assists infrastructure funds with debt refinancing and acquisition financing matters.
The firm's London office employs about 240 lawyers, including more than 50 partners, according to the firm's website. In the past 12 months, the firm has brought on 13 new partners through internal promotions and lateral hires, including Skadden alum David Edwards as co-head of its European disputes practice; That includes client Angus Lennox, a real estate private equity lawyer from Blackstone.
Last December, fund partner Katie McMenamin from British independent giant Travers Smith also joined. Her appointment follows the addition of fund partners Ed Ford and Sacha Gofton-Salmond from Travers early last year, signaling the firm's commitment to tapping into the increasingly lucrative secondary deal market. It was something.
A Weil spokesperson said of their departure: “We would like to thank Paul and Emma for their contribution and wish them well.''
The duo's departure leaves Weil with two infrastructure-focused partners in London – Murray Cox and Brendan Moylan, who joined Latham in March last year, according to the firm's website. -Joined from & Watkins.
Around the same time, Mr. Weil saw a pair of infrastructure-focused private equity partners, James MacArthur and Ed Freeman, move to Sidley Austin's London office.
Weill's London office is about the same size as Simpson Thatcher's, with 48 partners.
