LONDON, JULY 3, 2025: International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that partner Phil Baynes will rejoin the Firm in its Private Funds Group in London.

Phil’s appointment follows a series of strategic initiatives being executed by Weil to further develop and strengthen its global Private Funds Group. These have included the recent appointments of partners James Sargent and James Bromley as Co-chairs of the group in London and the hiring of respected secondaries and credit funds partners Simon Saitowitz and Sophie Smith – with Simon joining last month. In the United States, in just over a year, Weil has added funds partners Karen Chao, Kristine Koren and Christopher Mulligan.

Phil advises investment fund managers on the structuring, marketing, fundraising and operation of a wide range of private investment funds covering private equity, infrastructure, real estate and debt, and co-investment schemes, carried interest arrangements and secondaries transactions. He also has significant experience advising institutional investors on their alternative investment programmes and has acted on a number of high-profile GP stake and fund manager M&A transactions.

“In a challenging fundraising environment, our global funds clients need increasingly sophisticated advice, and Phil offers deeply technical skills to support this work. We are delighted he is rejoining Weil,” said Weil’s Executive Partner Barry Wolf.

“Phil is a highly skilled generalist across the Funds space, and an excellent technical lawyer with the ability to turn his hand to all types of private capital work,” said Michael J. Aiello, Chairman of Weil's Corporate Department. “We are excited to continue growing our world-renowned Private Funds team through strategic lateral hires like Phil as well as through organic, internal promotions.”

“Weil focuses on the most strategic, atypical and creative solutions in the private funds space. Phil’s breadth of experience, coupled with his blend of technical excellence and strategic thinking, is perfectly suited to help our clients navigate their most complex and strategically important fundraisings and funds related transactions. This is one of a number of senior hires we hope to make in London in the near term,” added James Sargent, Co-head of Weil’s London Private Funds Group.

Phil rejoins from A&O Shearman LLP where he was a partner. Phil had previously practiced in the Private Funds Group in Weil’s London office.

About Weil’s Private Funds Practice

Weil’s Private Funds Group has over 100 dedicated attorneys in the US and UK, advising a broad range of fund sponsors across the private equity, infrastructure, real estate, credit and secondaries sectors. The London Private Funds practice has developed significantly over the past few years in terms of its market share of matters.

About Weil’s London Office

Weil is a global elite law firms in London advising on the largest, most complex and challenging matters. London is the Firm’s largest office outside of New York, with approximately 250 lawyers.

About Weil

Founded in 1931, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has been a preeminent provider of legal services for more than 90 years. With approximately 1,200 lawyers in offices on three continents, Weil has been a pioneer in the marketplace and a first mover in the establishment of many significant practice areas. The Firm’s four departments, Corporate, Litigation, Restructuring, and Tax, Executive Compensation & Benefits, and more than two dozen practice groups are consistently recognised as leaders in their respective fields.