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Weil Gotshal hired Fiona Cumming, A&O Shearman's global co-head of fund finance, to its London practice, a move that fills what the firm calls its "missing piece" in sponsor-side financing. Sullivan & Cromwell, meanwhile, launched a German litigation practice by hiring two partners from Hengeler Mueller in Frankfurt, and the lateral market across New York continues at pace with moves touching private credit, capital markets, tax, and real estate.
On the client side, Apollo gatecrashed Castlelake's bid for easyJet with a £5.7bn offer at an 81% premium, SK Hynix first day of trading on Nasdaq is today after raising $26.5 billion in the largest-ever US IPO by a foreign company, and Morgan Stanley now projects global M&A will hit $6.4 trillion this year — topping 2021's record.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
Today’s Talking Points
-Weil hires A&O Shearman's fund finance co-head / Sullivan & Cromwell launches German litigation from Hengeler Mueller
-EQT appoints Freshfields, Ropes & Gray, Simpson Thacher, Clifford Chance as global relationship firms
-Willkie Farr crosses $2bn revenue, targets London and private capital growth
-Apollo's £5.7bn easyJet bid / SK Hynix's $26.5B Nasdaq IPO / Blue Origin raising $10B
-CVC replaces bankers with AI on sale process / OpenAI launches corporate work agent
-NY AG sues 3M, DuPont over PFAS / Uber targets litigation funders
-US-Iran: 90 targets struck, Hormuz traffic near-halt / 30-year bond yield hits 5.06%
Talent Strategy
Latest Moves
Weil Gotshal hired Fiona Cumming, A&O Shearman's global co-head of fund finance, to its London office. Weil's London finance head Tom Richards called the hire their "missing piece."
Sullivan & Cromwell launched a German litigation practice by hiring Philipp Hanfland and Maximilian Bulau from Hengeler Mueller in Frankfurt.
Paul Hastings hired private credit partner Peter Williams from Cahill Gordon in New York.
Sidley added capital markets partner Andrew Baker from Latham and emerging companies partner Mayan Katz from Goodwin in New York.
Simpson Thacher hired energy and infrastructure tax partner Steven Lorch from Weil in New York.
Willkie hired private funds partner Erica Temel from Kirkland in New York. Kirkland hired real estate partner Anthony Mongone from Ropes & Gray in New York.
Akin welcomed back Dallas Woodrum from Treasury OFAC as an international trade partner in Washington.
Katten launched a Miami office with capital markets partner Josh Kaufman from DLA Piper.
Norton Rose Fulbright hired M&A partners Nate Hurlbut and John Zarbock from Greenberg Traurig in Salt Lake City.
What today's moves tell us: Sponsor-side financing talent remains the most contested category across BigLaw, and firms are building cross-border litigation platforms to capture international disputes work.
Operations and Strategy
Clifford Chance and Willkie are telegraphing the strategy they will follow to compete for the next wave of sponsor mandates — through the buildout of a transatlantic platform and revenue discipline.
Willkie Farr’s firmwide leaders told Legal Business they are "not going to be left behind" in the race for global scale and says the next phase of growth will center on London and private capital. Clifford Chance, meanwhile, is pursuing its own transatlantic buyout strategy. CC's PE heads said the firm does not need "headline-grabbing power plays" to differentiate.
Clifford Chance, alongside Freshfields, Ropes & Gray, and Simpson Thacher have been named as key advisers to EQT as the fund reviewed its global legal relationships. The panel appointment reflects EQT's preference for cross-border PE capability, according to Legal Business.
Separately, at least 15 elite litigation boutiques have already matched Milbank's new associate pay scale — moving faster than most BigLaw firms, per Reuters. Young lawyers are drawn by hands-on experience at the same market rate.
Practices
Corporate M&A and Capital Markets
Corporate counsel expect to keep busy as dealmakers and sponsors are moving with confidence as M&A volume tracks toward a record year. The pipeline of cross-border bids, mega-IPOs, and pre-IPO financings points to sustained demand for sell-side advisory, capital markets, and PE transactional work. On the bio-tech sector, Paul Weiss’ Krishna Veeraraghavan describes the dealmaking velocity as "torrid pace".
Selected Press:
SK Hynix priced its US listing at $26.5B — the largest-ever first-time share sale by a foreign company in the US, 7x oversubscribed.
Apollo gatecrashed Castlelake's bid for easyJet with a £5.7bn offer at £7.15/share (81% premium). Paul Weiss is advising Apollo. Clifford Chance, Milbank, and Slaughter and May are also on the deal.
Hugo Boss recommended shareholders reject Frasers Group's €38/share takeover.
Blue Origin signed a term sheet to raise $10B at $130B valuation, its first outside capital.
BofA extended a $520M credit line to OpenAI ahead of an IPO, bringing total available credit above $5B.
Biotech dealmaking at a "torrid pace" in 2026 — more $1B+ deals already than all of 2025, per Paul Weiss co-head of global M&A Krishna Veeraraghavan.
Prologis pursuing a $17B takeover of UK warehouse landlord Segro. EQT acquiring Copia Power from Carlyle for $2.6B.
As global M&A hit $2.85 trillion in H1 2026, the strongest first half on record, per Legal Business, Morgan Stanley projects full-year volume of ~$6.4 trillion, which would top 2021.
CVC replaced bankers with AI on a sale process, an early signal that AI automation is reaching core advisory functions.
Litigation and Regulatory
State attorneys general and federal agencies are generating fresh enforcement and compliance mandates across environmental, product liability, and regulatory practices. Litigation finance is also drawing attention from both courts and legislatures, and general counsel are watching how disclosure requirements reshape the economics of funded claims. For life sciences companies, the Federal Circuit's patent ruling reinforces the stakes around IP portfolios in deal diligence and licensing strategy.
Selected Press:
NY AG Letitia James sued 3M and DuPont over PFAS "forever chemicals" contamination.
Uber is requiring litigants to disclose outside litigation funding and waive privilege. Ohio signed a bill requiring litigation finance disclosure.
Federal Circuit upheld AstraZeneca against Pfizer/Wyeth patent claims on cancer drug Tagrisso.
EPA proposed easing Biden-era heavy-truck emissions rules.
NYT asked a court to sanction OpenAI for allegedly misrepresenting its ability to search systems for proof of article misuse.
Where the Work Sits
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The M&A advisory pipeline is the clearest demand story right now. With H1 volume at a record $2.85 trillion and full-year projections above $6 trillion, Capital markets, M&A, and PE practices are seeing broad-based activity. SK Hynix's $26.5B IPO, Apollo's £5.7B easyJet bid, and Blue Origin's $10B raise each generate cross-border structuring, regulatory, and financing mandates across multiple firms and jurisdictions.
Technology and AI are creating a pipeline of work. OpenAI's push into enterprise tools will drive demand for technology transactions, data governance, and IP advisory. The NYT's sanctions motion against OpenAI points are more IP disputes coming down the pipeline.
Litigation funders face new disclosure requirements in Ohio, and Uber's push to force disclosure in arbitration is testing the boundaries of funded litigation. PFAS suits from the New York AG against 3M and DuPont will generate environmental litigation and product liability mandates. The Federal Circuit's AstraZeneca ruling reinforces the value of strong patent portfolios in life sciences M&A diligence.
Global Markets
Clients continue observing the bond market stress (driven by the US-Iran confrontation) as potential disruptors to deal timing. Falling unemployment claims data and equity market gains suggest the domestic economy is holding steady enough for dealmakers to stay active.
Selected Press:
US struck ~90 Iranian military targets Thursday. Hormuz ship traffic nearly halted at 13 tankers versus ~33 per day. Qatar mediating to restore ceasefire.
30-year bond auction priced at 5.06%, the highest yield since 2007. 10-year at 4.54%.
IMF cut its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.0% from 3.1% but dropped its recession warning.
US initial jobless claims fell to 215,000, below consensus. Existing home sales fell 2.4% as median price hit a record $440,600.
German industrial production rose 0.9% MoM in May, beating expectations with a second straight monthly gain.
That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.
-The BigLaw Markets Team
*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver newsletters that highlight the drivers of demand for legal services.
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