KWM's PE practice founder Jonathan Blake joins O'Melveny

Blake was the founder of law firm SJ Berwin’s private equity and private funds practices, which were later acquired with the rest of the business by KWM in 2013.

At O'Melveny, Blake will work alongside former colleagues John Daghlian in London and James Ford in Hong Kong on the firm's international funds practice.

Blake joined SJ Berwin in 1982 and went on to build a significant legacy with regard to private equity fund formation, being hailed as the father of the limited partnership model.

The development comes shortly after a raft of departures from KWM, 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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