Key Takeaways
- • Latham & Watkins has recruited a four-lawyer team from Clifford Chance to strengthen its Paris office, led by private equity and M&A partner Benjamin de Blegiers, with specialized expertise in energy and infrastructure transactions.
- • The team brings comprehensive capabilities across private equity, M&A, banking and finance, and public law and regulatory matters, with demonstrated track records advising corporates, private equity funds, pension funds, and asset managers in energy, infrastructure, defense, telecoms, and transportation sectors.
- • Daniel Zerbib, the finance partner, specializes in infrastructure finance transactions (both greenfield and brownfield), while Gauthier Martin brings deep public law and regulatory expertise for complex public contracts and regulated sector counseling; Alexandre Namoun completes the team with additional private equity and M&A capabilities.
- • Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins, characterized the hire as aligned with the firm's strategic growth plans in Europe and globally, representing a material addition to the firm's energy and infrastructure industry group capabilities.
Summary
Latham & Watkins has expanded its Paris office with the addition of four accomplished lawyers specializing in energy and infrastructure private equity, marking a strategic move to enhance the firm's transactional capabilities across continental Europe. The team, hired from Clifford Chance, is led by Benjamin de Blegiers, a private equity and M&A partner with significant market reputation in complex deal structuring and M&A transactions.
The four-lawyer team composition reflects a multidisciplinary approach to client service. Daniel Zerbib, a finance partner, brings specialized expertise in banking and infrastructure finance transactions, including greenfield and brownfield project finance structures—critical capabilities for the energy transition and infrastructure investment landscape. Gauthier Martin contributes expertise in public law and regulatory matters, with a track record advising on complex public contracts and strategic disputes within regulated sectors. Alexandre Namoun rounds out the group with private equity and M&A experience complementing Blegiers's practice.
The hiring underscores Latham's commitment to deepening its energy and infrastructure advisory capabilities in Europe, a strategically important region for cross-border private capital deployment and complex regulatory environments. The team's existing client base spans corporates, private equity funds, pension funds, and alternative asset managers—key constituencies in the institutional investment community. Their sector coverage extends beyond energy and infrastructure to include defense, telecommunications, and transportation, providing clients with nuanced experience across capital-intensive, highly regulated industries.
According to Rich Trobman, the firm's Chair and Managing Partner, the addition aligns with Latham's broader strategic expansion plans in Europe and globally. The hire reinforces the firm's positioning in high-value, sophisticated transactions where regulatory expertise, project finance structuring, and institutional investor knowledge converge—particularly relevant given ongoing European energy transition investments and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
The four-lawyer team composition reflects a multidisciplinary approach to client service. Daniel Zerbib, a finance partner, brings specialized expertise in banking and infrastructure finance transactions, including greenfield and brownfield project finance structures—critical capabilities for the energy transition and infrastructure investment landscape. Gauthier Martin contributes expertise in public law and regulatory matters, with a track record advising on complex public contracts and strategic disputes within regulated sectors. Alexandre Namoun rounds out the group with private equity and M&A experience complementing Blegiers's practice.
The hiring underscores Latham's commitment to deepening its energy and infrastructure advisory capabilities in Europe, a strategically important region for cross-border private capital deployment and complex regulatory environments. The team's existing client base spans corporates, private equity funds, pension funds, and alternative asset managers—key constituencies in the institutional investment community. Their sector coverage extends beyond energy and infrastructure to include defense, telecommunications, and transportation, providing clients with nuanced experience across capital-intensive, highly regulated industries.
According to Rich Trobman, the firm's Chair and Managing Partner, the addition aligns with Latham's broader strategic expansion plans in Europe and globally. The hire reinforces the firm's positioning in high-value, sophisticated transactions where regulatory expertise, project finance structuring, and institutional investor knowledge converge—particularly relevant given ongoing European energy transition investments and infrastructure modernization initiatives.
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