Paul Weiss has hired private equity partner Max Oppenheimer from Weil in London, the firm has confirmed today (19 October).
The firm has hired Oppenheimer, who has been a partner at Weil since 2021, as well as PE counsel Jamie MacDonagh, who joins Paul Weiss as a partner.
The news of Oppenheimer’s move first broke earlier this month, alongside the move of a four-partner finance team led by London finance group head Tom Richards, set to join Simpson Thacher.
Commenting on Oppenheimer and MacDonagh’s hires, Paul Weiss vice chair and London office co-head Neel Sachdev said: ‘Max is widely regarded as a private equity M&A star, with deep experience advising major sponsors on some of their most significant transactions in Europe.’
‘He and Jamie will further strengthen our global M&A platform and add to the 14 M&A partners in London, and we are delighted to welcome them both to the firm,’ he added.
A Legal 500 next-generation partner for high-value PE deals, Oppenheimer has experience advising clients including General Atlantic, Advent, and HgCapital on a range of transactions.
He has also frequently acted for Lone Star Funds, most recently co-leading the team that advised on its €4bn acquisition of material solutions group ContiTech.
Last year, meanwhile, he led the team that advised on its $7.39bn acquisition of Novo Banco, with MacDonagh also advising.
Oppenheimer’s move comes amid a slew of exits from Weil, with the total number of departures firmwide since January now standing at around 50.
Oppenheimer marks the first London partner to leave Weil for Paul Weiss. However, the firm has made a number of hires from Weil’s New York base, including PE co-head and global leadership and strategy committee Chris Machera.
Vice chair of Paul Weiss and global co-chair of the M&A practice, Matthew Abbott, said: ‘We are proud of the global private equity platform we have built to bring clients the best advice on their most sophisticated transactions.’
‘The addition of Max and Jamie comes on the heels of top-notch partner arrivals in the US and further cements our strength.’
Global co-chair of the M&A practice and co-head of the London office, Roger Johnson, added: ‘Max and Jamie’s sophisticated transactional practice spans the full spectrum of private equity, and public and private company M&A dealmaking.’
‘We are thrilled to have them join us in London.’
At the same time, Weil has also made a hire from Paul Weiss in New York, bringing in antitrust partner Yuni Yan Sobel.
Sobel has been at Paul Weiss since 2019, when she joined as a counsel, and made partner in January 2025.
Weil executive partner Barry Wolf said of the hire: ‘Yuni is an outstanding lawyer and an important strategic addition to the firm.
‘She is a recognized leader in merger control matters, and her experience will strengthen a critical capability for our clients across our integrated global platform,’ he continued.
The firm has also been rebuilding its PE group, hiring PE/M&A partner Rebecca Ward from Freshfields in London earlier this month.
