Paul Hastings swoops for Covington PE real estate team in London

Paul Hastings is set to hire a senior private equity and real estate team in London from Covington & Burling, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The team is led by Lyndsey Laverack and Jade Williams-Adedeji and includes lawyers Jack Mayall and José Maria Rodrigues, alongside a broader team. The team moved to Covington from Sidley Austin in 2024.

‍Strategic hires

Laverack advises private equity sponsors, investment funds and REITs on cross-border transactions, including acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures, with experience spanning corporate real estate and infrastructure investments.

Williams-Adedeji, who led Covington’s London real estate practice, advises on real estate investment, covering both debt and equity structures across healthcare, data centres, hospitality and renewable energy.

Laverack and Williams‑Adedeji have worked with clients including Apollo, Fortress Investment Group and KKR, and previously practiced together at Sidley Austin.

The move marks a step by Paul Hastings to rebuild its London private equity real estate bench after several departures last year, including a senior duo who left for Hogan Lovells and partner Stephen Nicolas who left to launch Cleary’s European real estate practice.

Momentum in London

The hires follow a series of lateral additions in London as Paul Hastings continues to scale its offering across private equity, M&A and related practice areas.

Recent additions include private equity partner Ferish Patel from Cooley and M&A partner Mark Zerdin from Slaughters, alongside multiple hires across tax, antitrust, structured credit, investment funds and fund finance.