Ropes loses PE real estate duo to Freshfields

Freshfields has added two private capital real estate partners in London from Ropes & Gray.

David Seymour and Will Bryant will boost Freshfields’ real estate offering to private capital clients, including real estate funds, pension funds and family offices. They bring expertise advising investors across asset classes including logistics, data centres, retail and education.

According to LinkedIn, both lawyers joined Ropes more than a decade ago from Slaughter and May - Seymour in 2012 and Bryant in 2013.

Bigger picture

The exits will come as another blow to Ropes in London, landing just a month after private equity dealmaker Helen Croke left the firm for White & Case, along with counsel Laura Kayani and Nick Matthew.

For Freshfields, the hires mark another step in its private capital-focused expansion. Earlier this year, the firm brought on board infrastructure heavyweights Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson from Paul Hastings, with finance partner Alistair McKechnie following in May. At least seven associates reportedly jumped to Freshfields as part of the wider team build.

What they said

Freshfields’ head of global real estate, Niko Schultz-Suechting, said: "With an increasingly diversified market, real estate is the biggest asset class in the private capital space.

“We continue to see an increase in the complexity and cross border nature of real estate transactions which we are advising on. The appointments of David and Will enhance our strength in London as well as our global capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”