Goodwin Procter lands six partners from KWM

The development came on the same day KWM partner Jonathan Blake – who founded the private equity and private funds practices of SJ Berwin (later acquired by KWM) – announced he was joining O'Melveny & Myers.

The partners who will leave KWM for Goodwin Procter include head of the international funds department Michael Halford and tax partner Laura Charkin, who leave KWM after 22 years and 16 years respectively. Fund formation specialists and partners Ed Hall and Shawn D’Aguiar leave after 12 and 16 years respectively. Partner and co-head of the division’s African operations Patrick Deasy and partner Ajay Pathak, who advises private equity houses and other asset managers, leave after three years and 18 years.

Goodwin Procter has also appointed a further 15 associates and five trainees from KWM’s team.

This week’s departures are the latest in a series of exits from the beleaguered firm, which shares an office with unquote" parent Mergermarket Group, as the Hong Kong-headquartered law firm's EMEA business heads into pre-pack administration.

Earlier this month, partners Gabriel Boghossian, Warren Allan and Jonathan Pittal joined Stephenson Harwood to expand the private equity practice in the London office of the firm's corporate arm.

In December, US-headquartered law firm Orrick poached Christoph Brenner for its Munich-based private equity team, as well as partner Ylan Steiner in London. At the time, a source close to the situation told unquote" the entire KWM private equity and venture capital team was expected to join Orrick.

Jonathan Pittal resigned from KWM in October, after disagreements surrounding the firm's since-scuppered £14m recapitalisation programme. He left alongside UK investment funds head Michael Halford, corporate partner Andrew Wingfield and former managing partner Rob Day. Before departing, Pittal was KWM's co-head of UK private equity.

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