- Europe
- Lateral moves
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Simpson Thacher is set to gain another finance partner from Weil's London office, Law.com reported on 28 October. Weil has lost, or is set to lose, more than 30 partners globally since July, including around 19 industry-ranked lawyers and 10 senior leaders.
Tom Richards leads a seven-partner Weil London move to Simpson Thacher
The hire follows an earlier move in October, when Weil's London finance head Tom Richards, a partner since 2015, entered advanced talks to join Simpson Thacher with three UK colleagues, Law.com reported.
Richards is moving with leveraged/acquisition finance partners Alex Eagle, Patrick Brendon and Gilles Teerlinck. That would bring Simpson Thacher's Weil London intake to seven partners, after funds partners Simon Saitowitz and Charles Cooper-Isow and infrastructure M&A partner Murray Cox, Legal Business reported. Saitowitz and Cooper-Isow, both secondaries partners, joined Weil from Kirkland in April. Simpson Thacher also took six Weil partners in a single group across London and New York, including New York sponsor-advisory partner Brian Parness, Nonbillable reported.
Weil's departures span London, New York and Boston
The London moves are part of a wider pattern. Nearly 40 Weil partners have left or indicated an intention to leave since January, about 13% of its roughly 300-partner partnership. Around 12 of them are in London, Bloomberg reported.
In London, co-managing partner and M&A head David Avery-Gee left for Sullivan & Cromwell with corporate partner Sarah Flaherty and finance partners Chris McLaughlin, Alastair McVeigh and Jenny Choi. Private equity partner Max Oppenheimer, who had spent more than 13 years at the firm, is moving to Paul Weiss, Nonbillable reported. In the US, corporate chair Michael Aiello left for Cravath with five M&A partners. Ramona Nee, who was due to become executive partner in January, declined the role and held talks to join Simpson Thacher, Above the Law reported.
Weil's merger talks with Willkie Farr ended after the parties signed an NDA. A deal would have taken Weil, with around $2.1bn in revenue, closer to the top 10, Above the Law reported. Law.com attributed the London departures to slow growth and an individualistic culture in the office, Law.com reported.
Sponsor-side finance anchors the US firms' London hiring
Simpson Thacher's Weil hiring centers on sponsor-side leveraged/acquisition finance, the practice Richards led in London, Legal Business reported. The wider group covers private funds, secondaries, GP-stakes, infrastructure finance and credit. These practices are closest to private capital, which has driven most of the gains made by US firms in London, Law.com reported.
London private equity partner moves nearly doubled in 2025, reaching a record. Firms hired 668 partners during the year, up 21%, Global Legal Post reported. Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2025, 80% of partner arrivals in the City went to leading US firms, compared with 56% of departures. Kirkland, Latham and Goodwin made the largest gains, City AM reported.
Simpson Thacher's $3.55bn revenue funds a CityPoint hiring run
Simpson Thacher passed $3bn in revenue for the first time, with global turnover up 22.5% to $3.55bn. That growth has supported hiring from its CityPoint base, Legal Business reported. Chair Alden Millard has simplified decisions on lateral hires. The firm has increased revenue and profit by more than 60% since 2022 and expanded into Chicago and Dallas by recruiting from Kirkland, Bloomberg Law reported.
The London expansion has involved several firms. Kirkland private equity partner Nick Appleton followed funds partner Joanne Mak. Macfarlanes funds partner Sam Brooks and securitisation partner Rick Hanson also arrived in 2026, Global Legal Post reported. Across the market, the top 50 firms hired 1,086 partners through August, compared with 901 a year earlier. Weil itself has added 51 lateral partners since last year, including 18 from Simpson Thacher and Latham combined, Bloomberg Law reported.
The partners leaving Weil's London office work in debt finance, private funds and infrastructure, and most are moving to US firms. Simpson Thacher's intake would reach seven partners as it records its first $3bn-plus year. Those practices also account for the record pace of London partner hiring. Partners are moving in both directions between the same group of elite firms.
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