Freshfields adds Cravath dealmaker and Weil white collar co-chair

Freshfields has recruited partners from Cravath and Weil in back-to-back New York hires as the firm continues to build out its US platform.

M&A lawyer Bethany Pfalzgraf is joining from Cravath, while white collar litigator Daniel Stein has left Weil to become co-head of Freshfields' global investigations group.

The appointments, announced a day apart, bolster two areas where Freshfields has been investing heavily in the US: high-end transactional work and investigations.

Building in M&A

Pfalzgraf advises on public and private M&A as well as corporate governance matters, with experience spanning technology, life sciences, financial institutions, industrials and consumer businesses.

Her work includes cross-border and multi-jurisdictional deals, carve-outs, joint ventures and strategic collaborations. She joins a New York M&A practice that Freshfields has been expanding through lateral recruitment, including the hire of Keith Hallam earlier this year.

Pfalzgraf also reunites with former Cravath colleagues Damien Zoubek, Freshfields' US managing partner, and global M&A co-head Jenny Hochenberg.

Freshfields said almost two-thirds of its global M&A deal value in the first half of 2026 involved a US component, highlighting the growing importance of the market to its transactional business.

"The firm's momentum and ambitious trajectory make this a truly exciting time to join," Pfalzgraf said.

White collar hire

Stein brings another senior lateral into Freshfields' US litigation business, joining from Weil, where he co-chaired the firm's white collar practice.

His practice covers white collar criminal defence, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations. Before entering private practice, Stein spent a decade as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of New York, eventually becoming chief of its criminal division.

His arrival follows several other US investigations hires this year, including former federal prosecutors, a former State Department adviser and former Securities and Exchange Commission associate director.

"I have spent my career at the intersection of government enforcement and private practice, and I see a tremendous opportunity at Freshfields to bring those experiences together," Stein said.