Weil loses London co-managing partner to Sullivan & Cromwell

Sullivan & Cromwell is hiring Weil London co-managing partner David Avery-Gee and corporate partner Sarah Flaherty, adding two senior M&A lawyers to its growing City office.

Avery-Gee currently co-leads Weil's London office alongside Jonathan Wood and heads its London M&A practice. His practice spans public and private M&A, joint ventures and capital raisings, with a particular focus on the natural resources and energy sectors.

He recently advised Advent and FedEx on their €7.8 billion takeover of InPost Group.

Flaherty is a partner in Weil's London corporate group, advising on public and private M&A, restructurings and joint ventures. Both previously were partners at Linklaters.

S&C returns

The pair extend a growing pipeline from Weil to S&C in London.

S&C hired Mike Francies, who led Weil's London office for more than two decades, last year as part of a push to expand its City practice. It followed that with the hires of senior Weil finance partners Chris McLaughlin and Alastair McVeigh in January and Jenny Choi in March.

The latest departures also come amid wider turnover at Weil's London office. Akin hired a three-partner restructuring team led by Neil Devaney earlier this year, while London M&A partner Murray Cox moved to Simpson Thacher in August.

New York has also been hit. Weil corporate chair Michael Aiello is moving to Cravath and reportedly bringing along five other M&A partners in New York.

Weil has been adding partners at the same time, including leveraged finance partner James Crooks from Sidley and secondaries partner Charles Cooper-Isow from Kirkland in London.