Addleshaw Goddard adds McDermott PE partner trio as hiring push gathers pace

Addleshaw Goddard has hired three private equity partners from McDermott Will & Shulte in London, continuing its investment in the City alongside a wider European expansion.

Jason Zemmel, Daniel Weston and Jamie Burgess advise private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, management teams and corporates on domestic and cross-border transactions. The trio have worked together for more than a decade across McDermott and previously at CMS.

The trio, whose practices focus on the mid-market, with experience across health, social care, education and professional services, have moved after a relatively short stint a McDermott. Zemmel joined in October 2024, and Weston and Burgess followed in April 2025.

The hires form part of AG’s 2030 growth strategy under managing partner Andrew Johnston, which includes investment in its City practices and international network.

David Kirchin, the firm’s head of corporate and commercial, said: “Investing in the City and into our City-focused practices is a key element of our AG2030 growth strategy. This is an outstanding team hire that further strengthens our position in one of the most active and strategically important areas of the market.”

Doubling down on mid-market PE

Paul Medlicott, AG’s head of private equity, said the firm had known the three partners for many years.

“Mid-market private equity lies at the heart of our private equity practice and the team's arrival reinforces our commitment to that,” he said.

The London appointments follow yesterday's recruitment of a 20-person group from Taylor Wessing for its Munich office, including partners Hendrik Boss, Christian Saueressig, Sven Schweneke and Elisabeth Schalk.

The group, whose practices span corporate and M&A, private equity, restructuring and insolvency, also includes five salary partners and a wider team of lawyers. They will join in the new year, significantly expanding a Munich office that currently has three partners.

Building on a strong base

The investments reflect a broader effort to build on Addleshaws' national base and compete for more work in London and overseas.

Speaking recently to Non-Billable, Ben Koehne, the firm’s global head of financial services, described its City expansion as a strategy developed over more than a decade.

“The firm had identified that in order to succeed, it needed to invest in the City, build on what was already a very strong national base and internationalise,” he said.

AG’s recent mandates include advising Coventry Building Society on its £780 million acquisition of The Co-operative Bank and the National Wealth Fund on the £36 billion financing package for Sizewell C

Its European expansion has also included an 80-lawyer team from Linklaters in Warsaw and entry into the Netherlands through a merger with Amsterdam firm Florent that created the firm's 22nd office.