Simpson Thacher’s Weil haul grows with London private equity hire
Weil London PE partner Lewis Blakey is set to join Simpson Thacher taking its completed and expected hires from Weil across London and New York to 14.
Blakey is a Weil lifer and has acted for sponsors including Advent, Blackstone, Bain Capital and SilverTree Equity.
Private equity partner Lewis Blakey is set to leave Weil for Simpson Thacher, Non-Billable understands, extending the firm’s hiring spree from its US rival.
His expected move would bring the number of London partners who have joined or are set to join Simpson Thacher from Weil since August to nine.
Weil’s leadership recommended winding down the 95-year-old firm on Wednesday after weeks of partner departures on both sides of the Atlantic.
Simpson’s Weil haul keeps growing
M&A partner Murray Cox moved in August, followed by the October announcement of secondaries partners Simon Saitowitz and Charles Cooper-Isow’s recruitment. Weil’s London finance head Tom Richards and fellow finance partners Alex Eagle, Patrick Brendon, Gilles Teerlinck and Kai Zhang are also expected to join.
In New York, Simpson Thacher has recruited former Weil US private funds co-head Stephanie Epstein Srulowitz, alongside Brian Parness, Andrew Nichol, Corey Dietrich and Alexander Miachika. Together with the completed and expected London moves, that brings its total haul from Weil since August to 14 partners.
"At this point it's a firm within a firm," one City recruiter said of the Weil to Simpson Thacher super highway.
A Weil lifer
Blakey’s departure would end a career spent entirely at Weil. He joined as a trainee in 2009 and became a partner in 2020, building a practice advising sponsors including Advent, Blackstone, Bain Capital and SilverTree Equity.
In July, he co-led the Weil team advising Advent portfolio company Cobham Ultra on the $3.45 billion sale of undersea warfare business Ultra Maritime to Lockheed Martin. And last year, he led the team advising Cobham Ultra on the $1.55 billion sale of Ultra PCS to Eaton.
He also co-led the team advising the buyer consortium on the €7.8 billion take-private of Polish logistics company InPost, announced in February. The deal highlights the extent of the changes to Weil’s London partnership: fellow lead partner David Avery-Gee has since left for Sullivan & Cromwell, while Richards, Blakey and Zhang are now expected to join Simpson Thacher.
Other senior lawyers on the InPost team included finance partner Andrew Hagan and antitrust partner Jenine Hulsmann who both remain at Weil.
Simpson Thacher did not respond to a request for comment on Blakey's hire.
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