Ashurst Perkins Coie tech M&A partner jumps to MoFo

MoFo has hired Ashurst Perkins Coie tech M&A partner Chris Grey in London, following another senior departure from the firm last week.

Grey joins MoFo as a partner in its M&A practice and as UK tech sector lead. His arrival takes the firm’s London partnership to 25.

He joined Ashurst in 2023 from Clifford Chance, where he trained and practised in Paris before spending five years at elite Paris firm Darrois. At Ashurst, he was formerly global co-head of tech M&A and global co-lead of the firm’s technology sector.

MoFo rebuilds

For MoFo, Grey’s arrival adds senior technology M&A experience after the firm lost three partners to Latham in May.

The departures included then-London managing partner Andrew Boyd alongside Gary Brown and Luke Rowland. Litigation head Ben Summerfield subsequently took over leadership of the London office.

MoFo had already added three tech-focused lawyers earlier in May, bringing in Mike Pierides and Oliver Bell from Morgan Lewis and Will Holder from Baker McKenzie.

Grey is the tenth transactional partner to join MoFo’s London office since July last year. Firm chair Eric McCrath said investing in M&A and technology were top priorities for the firm.

Post-merger exits

Several Ashurst Perkins Coie partners have opted for moves recently. London construction head and 20-year veteran Ben Patton joined Greenberg Traurig last week, while energy M&A partner Quentin Robinson moved to Simmons at the end of September.

In August, energy and infrastructure head Michael Burns joined Vinson & Elkins in London to lead its EMEA energy and infrastructure M&A practice.

Real estate finance head Ruth Harris is also understood to be moving to US firm Proskauer in London. Harris is an Ashurst lifer and one of the market’s top real estate finance lawyers. She also co-leads the firm’s data centre infrastructure platform.

The departures come after Ashurst completed its landmark transatlantic merger with Perkins Coie in June.