Latham & Watkins has hired prominent private equity partner Ross Allardice (pictured), the firm announced today (16 July), bolstering its London M&A and buyout practice.
Allardice is making the move to Latham less than four years after he returned to White & Case from Dechert in 2021. He first joined W&C in 2013 from Kirkland & Ellis, before leaving the firm for Dechert in 2016.
He joins Latham with experience advising PE houses, financial sponsors, and portfolio companies on a range of complex cross-border transactions, with particular expertise in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, as well as in financial services and technology.
Nordic Capital has been a key client for Allardice during his time at both Dechert and White & Case, with deal highlights including advising on its €2.1bn sale of financial institutions trading tech and services provider Itiviti to Broadridge Financial Solutions in 2021, on its acquisition of innovation and IP management tech solutions and services provider Anaqua last November and, most recently, on a significant investment by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) in Nordic Capital portfolio company Regnology, which provides regulatory, risk, and supervisory tech solutions, in January.
Ed Barnett, who took over as managing partner of Latham’s London office last September, said in a statement: ‘Ross is an outstanding addition to our market-leading private equity M&A practice in London. We’ve built one of the best private equity teams in the City and have fantastic momentum in the market. Ross has a well-earned reputation for advising some of the most active global investors on their most important transactions. His deep knowledge, experience, and connections are a perfect fit for our platform, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the firm.’
London PE partner and executive committee member Kem Ihenacho added: ‘Ross is an excellent fit for our practice both in London and globally. His track record in advising on large-cap LBO transactions strategically complements our leading capabilities, and his arrival marks another major milestone in the continued growth of our practice. Beyond adding one of the City’s leading dealmakers to the team, Ross brings a wealth of deal expertise, an extensive client network, and entrepreneurial drive that will be highly accretive to the practice and an asset to our clients.’
Allardice is the sixth partner Latham has hired into its London office in 2025, with notable laterals including A&O Shearman structured finance partners Franz Ranero and James Smallwood in April. The pair’s arrival followed a clutch of finance laterals in 2024 including Cahill trio Jonathan Brownson, Joydeep Choudhuri, and Prue Criddle in May and Akin partners Paul Yin and Fergus Wheeler at the turn of the year.
The firm has also seen a number of departures from its London office, including a total of nine partners who moved to Sidley Austin in 2024-25.
For its part, White & Case strengthened its City PE bench recently with the hire of Helen Croke from Ropes & Gray in June. Against this growth, White & Case has also lost a total of eight energy and infrastructure partners around the world to Paul Hastings since George Kazakov and Din Eshanov left the firm in the spring.
