Key Takeaways
- • Latham & Watkins recruits four senior private equity and M&A partners—Markus Paul, Wessel Haak, Verena Nosch, and Carsten Haak—from Freshfields to expand its German practice, with Paul and Haak based in Frankfurt and the others positioned across Germany's financial hubs.
- • The four partners bring decades of combined advisory experience in leveraged buyouts, complex cross-border M&A, and financial sponsor transactions, with particular expertise serving private equity funds and corporate clients.
- • Latham achieved #1 global rankings for M&A by both deal value and deal count in the first three quarters of 2025, alongside #1 rankings for global private equity M&A by deal count, positioning the German expansion as a strategic consolidation of market leadership.
- • Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins, characterized the hire as "an important milestone in the continued growth of our private equity and M&A practices in Germany and Europe" and affirmed the firm's position among elite global M&A law firms.
- • The expansion strengthens Latham's European platform during a period of sustained momentum in M&A activity, with the firm also holding #1 rankings in Europe for M&A, private equity M&A, and mid-market private equity M&A by deal count.
Summary
Latham & Watkins announced the recruitment of four prominent private equity and M&A partners to its German practice in a strategic expansion designed to reinforce the firm's market position in Europe. The four partners—Markus Paul, Wessel Heukamp, Verena Nosch, and Carsten Haak—join from Freshfields, bringing extensive experience in sophisticated M&A and leveraged financing transactions. Paul and Haak will establish themselves in Frankfurt, while Heukamp and Nosch will base their operations across Germany's other principal financial and private equity centers.
The incoming team is widely recognized among Europe's leading private equity counsel, with deep expertise in advising private equity sponsors, financial institutions, and multinational corporates on leveraged buyouts and complex domestic and cross-border transactions. Their arrival represents a significant talent acquisition for Latham, which seeks to expand its advisory capacity in a market segment characterized by substantial deal flow and client concentration among Germany's leading financial and industrial constituencies.
Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins, emphasized the strategic significance of the hire, stating that the partners "bring deep relationships, top-notch skills and an exceptional track record in sophisticated transactions, further enhancing our ability to deliver the highest level of service to clients." Trobman positioned the expansion as consistent with the firm's broader European growth trajectory and reinforcement of its competitive standing in global M&A advisory.
The timing of the German expansion aligns with sustained momentum in Latham's M&A practice. In the first three quarters of 2025, the firm achieved #1 global rankings for M&A by both deal value and deal count, as well as #1 for global private equity M&A by deal count, according to Bloomberg. Within Europe specifically, Latham maintained #1 rankings for M&A, private equity M&A, and mid-market private equity M&A by deal count, demonstrating consistent dominance across multiple segments. The German partnership expansion is positioned as a strategic deployment of capital to capture incremental advisory engagement in a core European market.
The incoming team is widely recognized among Europe's leading private equity counsel, with deep expertise in advising private equity sponsors, financial institutions, and multinational corporates on leveraged buyouts and complex domestic and cross-border transactions. Their arrival represents a significant talent acquisition for Latham, which seeks to expand its advisory capacity in a market segment characterized by substantial deal flow and client concentration among Germany's leading financial and industrial constituencies.
Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins, emphasized the strategic significance of the hire, stating that the partners "bring deep relationships, top-notch skills and an exceptional track record in sophisticated transactions, further enhancing our ability to deliver the highest level of service to clients." Trobman positioned the expansion as consistent with the firm's broader European growth trajectory and reinforcement of its competitive standing in global M&A advisory.
The timing of the German expansion aligns with sustained momentum in Latham's M&A practice. In the first three quarters of 2025, the firm achieved #1 global rankings for M&A by both deal value and deal count, as well as #1 for global private equity M&A by deal count, according to Bloomberg. Within Europe specifically, Latham maintained #1 rankings for M&A, private equity M&A, and mid-market private equity M&A by deal count, demonstrating consistent dominance across multiple segments. The German partnership expansion is positioned as a strategic deployment of capital to capture incremental advisory engagement in a core European market.
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