Latham & Watkins just poached four private equity heavyweights from Freshfields in Germany, and the group brings some serious dealmaking firepower with them. Markus Paul used to run Freshfields' continental Europe operation before jumping ship along with veteran partner Wessel Heukamp, rising star Verena Nosch, and newly minted partner Carsten Haak. Paul will land in the Frankfurt office with Haak, while Heukamp and Nosch set up shop in Munich.
The move comes after Latham lost a six-lawyer PE team to Weil earlier this year and watched M&A partner Tobias Larisch bounce to open Kirkland & Ellis' Frankfurt office. Paul has tight relationships with major firms like Permira after advising on the massive Adevinta buyout, and Heukamp recently co-led the team handling Cinven's Grant Thornton acquisition. Freshfields is getting hollowed out on the German PE side while they keep pumping resources into their US expansion strategy.
The move comes after Latham lost a six-lawyer PE team to Weil earlier this year and watched M&A partner Tobias Larisch bounce to open Kirkland & Ellis' Frankfurt office. Paul has tight relationships with major firms like Permira after advising on the massive Adevinta buyout, and Heukamp recently co-led the team handling Cinven's Grant Thornton acquisition. Freshfields is getting hollowed out on the German PE side while they keep pumping resources into their US expansion strategy.
