Latham & Watkins has boosted its City M&A and private equity practice with the hire of a three-partner team from Morrison Foerster, including office head Andrew Boyd.
The team includes MoFo’s co-head of European M&A, Gary Brown, as well as Luke Rowland, who joined the partnership in January.
The move will mark a return to Latham for Boyd and Brown, who were previously associates at the West Coast firm, before moving to MoFo in 2016 as partners.
‘Andrew, Gary, and Luke are an outstanding team, and their arrival underscores our continued focus on strategic growth areas at a time of strong and growing demand for technology driven mandates,‘ Latham London managing partner Ed Barnett said in a statement to LB.
The pair advise on cross-border acquisitions in the private equity space, with a focus on the technology sector and AI, fintech and semiconductors in particular.
Both have worked extensively with SoftBank, with Brown advising on the bank’s 2017 investment in Uber worth $7.7bn.
In addition to his work with SoftBank, Boyd has worked with clients including Uber and Visa on a range of matters, as well as working with PE houses such as Hg Capital.
SoftBank is also a regular client of Latham, with the firm advising the bank on multiple matters over the last 12 months, including the bank’s $40bn bridge loan for investments in Open AI.
Rowland has been at MoFo since 2022, having joined from Slaughter and May. His matters include advising on SoftBank’s proposed acquisition of Swiss-headquartered ABB’s robotics division last year for a proposed enterprise value of $5.375bn and on its acquisition of UK chipmaker Graphcore in 2024.
News of the departures comes after MoFo hired a three-partner transactional technology team in London, with Mike Pierides and Oliver Bell joining from Morgan Lewis and William Holder joining from Baker McKenzie.
Head of litigation for London, Ben Summerfield, has been appointed as managing partner and will lead the London office alongside his role as head of litigation.
Jennifer Marines, vice chair of Morrison Foerster said: ‘We thank Andrew, Gary, and Luke for their contributions to the firm and wish them well. We believe deeply in the London platform we have built, in the people who are driving it forward, and in the opportunity ahead.
‘Over the past 10 months, alongside continued investment in our litigation practice, we have welcomed nine lateral partners into our London Transactions Department, materially strengthening our transactional capabilities. That momentum reflects the quality of our client relationships, the ambition of our people, and our commitment to building a London practice with substance, depth and staying power. We are proud of what we have created and excited about what comes next.’
