Boost for Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

Boost for Gibson Dunn & Crutcher

Three-member team joins the law firm that advises clients on significant transactions around the world

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, one of the top 15 US-based legal services firms, has boosted its private equity and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) capabilities in London. This happened as a result of a trio of partner-level hires from its rival Vinson & Elkins (V&E).

Amid a booming market for corporate and private equity lateral hires, Federico Fruhbeck will serve as Gibson Dunn's Europe head of private equity. He comes aboard with Robert Dixon and counsel Alice Brogi.

Jeremy Kenley, Gibson London's corporate transactional partner praised the trio's, "impressive deal sheets and strong top-tier client relationships." He said they aligned closely with the firm's private equity real estate practice in London.

These are the latest in the flurry of corporate M&A hires in London, hitting a record high in the third quarter. It accounted for almost a fifth of M&A activity over that period, according to the data supplied by Refinitiv, an American-British global provider of financial market data and infrastructure.

(Earlier, Kirkland & Ellis hired private equity partners Vincent Bergin and Keir MacLennan from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. Prior to that, White & Case hired three private equity partners from its US rival Dechert).

The Gibson hires replenish the M&A capabilities of the Los Angeles-based firm's London corporate practice. The firm said the V&E trio would continue to focus on cross-border M&A, particularly infrastructure, environmental, social and governance and real assets transactions for both private equity and corporate clients.

The team is active in a number of sectors including energy transition, transportation, telecoms, shipping and building materials, and also advises on global impact and climate change-related investments.

Barbara Becker, chairperson and managing partner of Gibson, said she was "delighted" to welcome the trio to the firm, adding: "Growing the transactional practice in London and beyond is a strategic focus for us. The addition of these seasoned-deal lawyers expands our ability to develop the private equity infrastructure work we are handling in London, New York and Asia. It also deepens our broader private equity M&A practice globally."

Fruhbeck joined the Houston-based firm as a counsel in 2017 from the London office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, becoming a partner the next year. His practice focuses on cross-border M&A transactions across Europe for private equity clients and large family-owned conglomerates. He has long-standing experience in the infrastructure and real assets industries. Legal Week named him as one of 25 private equity rising stars in London in 2020.

Dixon is a V&E veteran, having joined the firm in 2009 from Slaughter and May and making partner three years later. He advises private equity and corporate clients on M&A and equity investments, with a focus on cross-border M&A infrastructure transactions.

Brogi served as a counsel during her five years at V&E, having previously worked as an associate at Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft in London. She advises clients on matters including domestic and cross-border acquisitions, preferred equity and debt investments, joint ventures and portfolio acquisitions in the UK and across Europe.