Paul Hastings has officially unveiled a four-partner finance team secured from Latham & Watkins in London, including Latham's former global banking co-chair and the former co-chairs of its London finance department. 

Mo Nurmohamed, Ross Anderson, Karan Chopra and Rob Davidson have all joined as partners in the Los Angeles firm’s global finance practice, with Nurmohamed taking on a leadership role as co-chair of finance.

While news of their departure leaked earlier this month, Paul Hastings has now publicly welcomed them into its ranks.

At Latham, Nurmohamed served as co-chair of Latham’s London finance team with Chopra while Anderson was global banking co-chair. Davidson, meanwhile, was promoted to partner in Latham’s 44-strong round last autumn. 

Paul Hastings chairman Seth Zachary described the new arrivals as an “exceptional team defined by superior talent and excellence in providing sophisticated legal advice to guide clients’ most complex transactions”. 

He added: “They are recognised as market-leading individuals trusted by top-tier global financial institutions and direct lenders. The team creates immediate synergies while adding further depth and breadth to our existing market-leading global team.”

Latham did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the exits. 

At their former firm, the quartet worked a number of what Paul Hastings referred to as ‘landmark’ transactions. They helped arrange financing for Bain Capital Private Equity’s $2bn acquisition of Rolls Royce’s Spanish business ITP Aero last year and assisted in arranging financing for Blackstone’s acquisition of Welsh building merchants chain Huws Gray just a few months earlier. 

Now they are poised to contribute to Paul Hastings’ growth in London off the back of a record 2021. 

The office, which focuses on funds, finance, M&A/PE and investigations and white collar defence, grew headcount 16% to push it past 150 legal staff in 2021 and saw revenue jump from $108.6m in 2020 to $152.7m. 

At Paul Hastings, the new arrivals will be reunited with finance partner Adrian Chiodo, who joined the firm as a partner last summer.  

Other new arrivals to the office in 2021 included six lawyers from US rival White & Case, with partner duo Jonathan Pickworth and Joanna Dimmock joining the investigations and white collar defence team in January followed by newly-minted partner Rebecca Copcutt and three associates in May. 

Other 2021 additions included the former co-chair of Covington & Burling’s London dispute resolution group, Alex Leitch, private investment funds partner Ted Craig, who moved over from Dentons, and ex-Proskauer Rose partner Max Kirchner, who joined the securities and capital markets team. 

Anderson said. “The firm’s momentum and strong growth in London – and around the world – is remarkable and our team is eager to continue to help drive that upward trajectory." 

Paul Hastings has also been hiring on its home turf. In June, it secured Gibson Dunn’s global M&A co-chair, Eduardo Gallardo, in New York in a move Zachary hailed as an ‘important milestone’ for the practice. 

Headcount in New York is on track to hit 400 by the end of the year, according to the firm, which has also been buoyed by the hire of a three-partner projects and infrastructure team from Shearman & Sterling in May and the arrival of an 18-partner restructuring team from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan in March.