Latham & Watkins has hired Hg’s general counsel as a private equity partner in its London office, in the latest in a clutch of recent moves from in-house roles to top firms.
Samantha McGonigle (pictured) joins the firm’s PE and M&A practice after a little over two years at Hg, where she was a partner and general counsel. Before this, she spent a year at Paul Hastings, where she was a partner.
The hire sees Latham continue to build in PE, after hiring two four-partner PE teams over the last year, in Germany and France, with London managing partner Ed Barnett telling Legal Business last week that tying together UK and Europe PE is a key part of the firm’s City strategy.
The move is the latest example of sponsor-side GCs moving into private practice at firms that have close relationships with the sponsors.
In May, Freshfields hired Permira managing director Sean Donovan back into its Singapore office, eight years after he left the firm as a senior associate. In January, Ropes & Gray hired Paul Dali, group general counsel at long-term client EQT, into its London office.
Meanwhile, Clifford Chance last year made hires from Blackstone and KKR, with former KKR director Patrick Scott on the firm’s team that advised a consortium involving KKR on a $16bn infrastructure joint venture.
‘We’re super excited,’ said Oliver Felsenstein, one of Latham’s leading PE partners, who regularly works with Hg, and previously worked with McGonigle at legacy Lovells. ‘Samantha brings a wealth of experience from both private practice and as a GC at one of the world’s largest PE firms that is incredibly focused on leveraging AI.’
‘She will be a super asset for the firm,’ he added.
Commenting on her move, McGonigle said: ‘Having worked closely with external counsel from the client side, I know how important it is to have advisers who understand the broader context and commercial objectives of today’s transactions. It is also key to frame that against the evolving backdrop of AI adoption.’
McGonigle first made partner at Weil in 2013. After leaving the firm in 2019, she co-founded a growth equity firm – a move that she described as the ‘single biggest learning move of my career.’
Speaking to LB in 2024, she said: ‘I became adept at making judgement calls at pace on the best information available and iterating on decisions as fact patterns changed. Most importantly, I learnt the power of a good network and that if you invest in helping people the rewards far outweigh the effort of doing so.’
Speaking about McGonigle’s hire, global vice chair of Latham’s corporate practice Tom Evans said: ‘Having known Sam for almost 20 years, I am especially pleased to welcome her to the firm.’
He continued: ‘She is a team player with strong leadership experience and a wide-ranging practice spanning key growth industries.’
