Taylor Wessing real estate duo leave for Mayer Brown

Taylor Wessing has lost two corporate real estate partners to Mayer Brown in London, just days after its partners signed off on the firm’s headline-making merger with US firm Winston & Strawn.

Mark Rajbenbach and Victoria Butcher will join Mayer Brown’s London office as partners, bolstering one of the City’s strongest real estate practices as competition for corporate real estate talent intensifies.

Both lawyers spent around eight years at Taylor Wessing. Rajbenbach joined the firm from Paul Hastings and previously practised at legacy firm SJ Berwin, building a strong reputation in the hotels and leisure sector.

Butcher made partner in 2022 and advises on all aspects of real estate investment deals, also with expertise in the hotels and leisure sector.

The pair’s departure comes at a landmark moment for Taylor Wessing. Last week, partners voted to approve the firm’s merger with Winston & Strawn, creating the transatlantic firm Winston Taylor, which is set to go live in May.

Corporate real estate firepower

At Mayer Brown, Rajbenbach and Butcher join a deep London real estate bench with a strong focus on private capital and cross-border investment work.

Dominic Griffiths, Mayer Brown’s London managing partner, said the hires would strengthen the firm’s ability to capture high-value, sophisticated real estate mandates, particularly for clients operating across the UK, Europe and the US.

Chris Harvey, the firm’s global co-lead for real estate, pointed to the pair’s experience advising sponsors, investors and lenders on multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Andrew Hepner, who leads London real estate at Mayer Brown, added: “Their focuses on US sponsor‑side work and their relationships with leading PERE [private equity real estate] clients provide natural synergies with our finance, private equity and funds teams.”