A&O loses private equity co-head to Simpson Thacher

Baird will join Simpson Thacher as a partner in its London corporate practice. He joins from A&O, where he was a partner and global co-head of its private equity group.

Before joining A&O in 2006, Baird was a partner at Hogan Lovells legacy firm Lovells (18 January 2006), joining there from Dickson Minto in 2002.

In a statement, Simpson Thacher’s London managing partner Gregory Conway said: “His mergers and acquisitions experience, particularly in private equity related transactions, complements that of our outstanding team in London.”

The hire is another significant one for Simpson Thacher in the City and marks the further expansion of its English law capabilities. In 2009 the firm made a major English-law hire when it took Clifford Chance corporate star Adam Signy (5 May 2009).

This was followed in 2010 with the hire of fellow Clifford Chance partner Jason Glover, a private equity expert who joined the US firm to launch a UK funds practice (20 July 2010).

Fellow US firm Davis Polk & Wardwell has followed a similar path, hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer capital markets partner Simon Witty at the beginning of this year (6 January 2012). He was joined by tax partner Jonathan Cooklin, also from Freshfields, in April (13 April 2012).