Paul Hastings has bolstered its UK and Europe offerings with a pair of partner hires this week, building its City high yield practice and relaunching in Brussels.
First, the firm has hired high yield partner Brad Weyland from A&O Shearman, in a move that sees it act quickly to plug the gap left by the departure of high yield chair Patrick Bright, who moved to Sullivan & Cromwell last month.
Weyland joined legacy Allen & Overy in 2021 from Latham & Watkins, where he was a counsel. His practice focuses on high-yield bonds, bridge loans and term loans for investment banks, private credit providers and corporates, with additional experience in restructurings and liability management matters.
After Bright’s departure, it was likely that Paul Hastings would act swiftly to secure a replacement to replenish its capacity in high yield as a cornerstone of its London finance practice, a person familiar with the move said.
Key players in Paul Hastings’ London finance practice are Ross Anderson, who co-chairs the office with corporate partner Matt Poxon, and Mo Nurmohamed who co-chairs the global finance practice.
Both Anderson and Nurmohamed are Legal 500 leading partners for acquisition finance, and both joined Paul Hastings from Latham in 2022.
Meanwhile, the firm has also relaunched its Brussels office with its hire of King & Spalding competition partner Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte.
Cisnal de Ugarte spent just under five years at King & Spalding, where she was head of EU and EMEA antitrust and competition.
‘As antitrust enforcement continues to intensify across industries such as tech, pharma, energy and financial services, Salomé’s experience and reputation will enhance our ability to win mandates and advise our M&A and private equity clients in navigating increasingly complex, multi-jurisdictional regulatory scrutiny,’ said Paul Hastings chair Frank Lopez.
The moves comes amid a period of partner churn for the US firm’s London office, though revenue growth in the UK capital has been significant. Weyland is the 11th lateral hire over the last six months – but the firm has seen at least as many partners depart over the same timeframe.
European restructuring practice chair Will Needham left to join S&C alongside Bright last month, while high yield partner Ed Holmes left for Cadwalader last summer.
The firm’s remaining London high yield partners include Reena Gogna, who joined from Weil in 2024, and Max Kirchner, who joined from Proskauer in 2020.
During this same six-month period, the firm also added structured credit partner Thomas Picton from Ashurst, fund finance partner Jennifer Passagne from Haynes Boone and investment funds partner David Richardson from Simpson Thacher.
Despite the turbulence, Lopez is bullish about London, telling Legal Business last month that he aims to make the office the firm’s second biggest, after its New York headquarters.
Financial results released at the end of last month showed firmwide revenue had increased 20% year on year, to a new high of $2.68bn, with the London office accounting for 10% of this, up 25% to $272.4m.
