Private equity heavyweight David Walker is set to leave Latham & Watkins after 13 years at the firm, and over three decades in the legal industry.
Walker, who has held multiple leadership positions at Latham, joined the US firm in 2013 from Clifford Chance.
From 2014 to 2018, he was co-chair of private equity, and from 2018 to 2023 was global vice chair of corporate. His next move is as yet unconfirmed.
Walker’s switch from CC to Latham in 2013 kicked off a series of big-name transfers between the two firms in the mid-2010s, with Kem Ihenacho and Tom Evans subsequently following him from the magic circle firm.
Evans is now global vice chair of corporate at Latham, while Ihenacho is now on the firm’s executive committee. Other key names in Latham’s London PE team include Paul Dolman and Farah O’Brien.
Walker, who is recognised in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for high-value private equity transactions, is well known as one of the biggest names in the market, with longstanding ties to clients including Goldman Sachs, EQT, Hellman & Friedman and Carlyle.
This summer, he advised Energy Capital Partners on the high-profile $5.75bn takeover of FTSE 100 business DCC Energy.
Other major deals he has led on during his time at Latham have included advising Hellman & Friedman on its 2021 investment in Autoglass parent Belron, which valued the company at €21bn, as well as acting for Bridgepoint and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on the €4.2bn sale of Dorna Sports to Liberty Media in 2024.
Prior to joining Latham, Walker spent 22 years at CC, where he was global head of private equity for four years until his departure in 2013.
His move from the magic circle firm to a leading US platform was indicative of the trajectory of Big Law over the last 20 years, during which time US firms have seen rapid growth on the back of the rise of the private equity industry.
