Paul Hastings adds PE partner from Cooley in London

Paul Hastings has added private equity partner Ferish Patel from Cooley in London.

Patel has been Asia-based for much of his career and helped Cooley launch its Singapore office in 2020, which he also led.

He advises companies and investors across the deal lifecycle, from growth financings to M&A and IPOs, with a focus on high-growth sectors including tech, healthcare and financial services.

Patel spent six years at Cooley, with previous stints at Silicon Valley firm Gunderson Dettmer and Wall Street heavyweights Davis Polk and Simpson Thacher.

The firm said the hire supports its push to broaden its private equity and M&A offering beyond traditional buyouts into growth, strategic and public M&A.

“Growth equity is an incredibly synergistic market for us as we expand market share with asset manager and corporate clients globally from California to Boston and New York to London,” said firm chair Frank Lopez.

London growth

Patel’s arrival extends a run of senior hires for Paul Hastings in London as it scales its presence across core transactional and regulatory practices.

Recent recruits include M&A partner Mark Zerdin from Slaughter and May, competition partner Sally Evans from Kirkland, and a trio of corporate tax partners.

The firm has also been expanding its European footprint more widely, relaunching its Brussels office with the hire of EU competition partner Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte from King & Spalding.