Akin Gump to Expand Its London Practice With Two Partner Hires

(London) – Leading international law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is to add two partners to its London funds practice.

Tim Pearce and Ian Meade will join the firm from Simmons & Simmons.

Their arrival at Akin Gump will significantly expand the firm’s London practice which advises leading funds and fund managers on a broad range of issues, investment products and asset classes, including fund formation and financial services regulation and compliance, as well as their business activities more generally.

Tim and Ian will also work closely with the firm’s market-leading international funds teams and clients in New York, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Abu Dhabi and Beijing.

Prakash Mehta, co-head of Akin Gump’s investment funds and private equity practice group worldwide, commented: “The investment funds scene globally is rapidly changing and the opportunities for our clients in the UK and internationally are enormous. Tim and Ian are two well respected and highly regarded lawyers and bring exceptional insights and experience into this market and the legal and commercial issues on which our clients are increasingly focused. We are delighted to welcome them to Akin Gump.”

Steven Blakeley, partner in charge of the London office, added: “This is an exciting development for Akin Gump’s London office and entirely consistent with our strategy of building on our established strengths. We have been building a very successful funds practice in London over the last ten years and the arrival of Tim and Ian will bolster our platform for continued growth of the practice, and the firm in London, in particular in the areas of tax, regulatory and finance.”

Tim and Ian are involved in a broad range of financial services work including advising in relation to investment trusts, limited partnerships, open ended investment companies (OEICs) and financial services regulatory work. They specialize in the launch of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds and related issues, including advising in relation to segregated account agreements and managed account platforms. They also advise a number of leading London-based hedge fund managers on new hedge fund products including the creation of bespoke investment structures and subsequent negotiation of investments by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other significant institutional investors in such structures.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 800 lawyers and advisors in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Akin Gump’s Investment Funds and Private Equity Practice Group is counsel to many of the top private equity and hedge funds in the world. The firm’s representation of a broad range of asset managers and institutional investors gives the firm huge insight on trends in the private equity and hedge fund industries. This knowledge and experience is particularly valuable to clients as convergence across asset classes continues to play out in the marketplace. As the hedge fund market continues to grow, the firm guides clients through the complex global tax, regulatory and legal challenges of the new financial landscape. Akin Gump is known both for the global perspective we bring to our funds work, as well as for our experience with key industries and knowledge of emerging markets.

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