Weil lands Freshfields dealmaker as it rebuilds London bench

Weil has moved to restock its London corporate bench with the hire of Freshfields private equity partner Rebecca Ward.

Ward joins after four years at Freshfields, having previously spent 17 years at Dickson Minto. She has more than two decades of experience advising PE sponsors and corporates.  

Her recent mandates include leading the Freshfields team advising BP on the $6 billion sale of a majority stake in its Castrol lubricants business to Stonepeak last year.

The hire comes after a run of senior departures from Weil’s corporate and finance teams across London and New York in recent weeks, including City private equity and M&A partners Max Oppenheimer, London office co-head David Avery-Gee, Sarah Flaherty and Murray Cox.

London finance head Tom Richards is also leaving, with Simpson Thacher understood to be his most likely destination.

European focus

Weil said Ward’s arrival forms part of a broader European private equity build-out, pointing in particular to Germany, where it has added 11 private equity partners in as many months across its offices in Munich and Frankfurt.

Recent German hires include Olga Stürmer from Freshfields and David Jansen from Willkie.

Marco Compagnoni, co-head of Weil’s global private equity group, described Ward as a “hugely respected private equity partner with a reputation for excellence in the London market."

He added: “Having worked with her, I have seen first-hand the trusted relationships she builds with clients and the quality of her advice. We are delighted to welcome her to the firm as part of the tremendous growth across our European private equity practice.”