Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has made a rare lateral partner hire in London, bringing in private equity partner James Howe from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Howe is set to join Simpson Thacher after four years at Gibson Dunn, which he joined in 2016 from Proskauer Rose.

He is the latest addition for the usually lateral-averse Simpson Thacher in London, though the firm brought on board Linklaters' former global tax head Yash Rupal as a partner in February.

The firm's last heavyweight hire prior to that was in 2018, when the firm hired Clifford Chance M&A infrastructure partner Amy Mahon to its ranks following a trend of recruiting from the Magic Circle firm, where the firm's London managing partner Jason Glover joined from in 2010.

"Given his experience advising many of the most sophisticated private equity sponsors on a wide range of high-profile transactions, James is a perfect fit for the firm," Glover said in a statement Monday.

"His dealmaking prowess further bolsters our existing top-notch global private equity mergers and acquisitions capabilities, adding further depth to our extraordinarily talented bench of lawyers in London."

Gibson Dunn has seen several exits from its London office in recent months, including leveraged finance partner Amy Kennedy who joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in March, and corporate partner Jonathan Earle, who left the firm at the beginning of 2020.

Gibson Dunn didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Howe's departure.

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