DLA Piper is close to securing former Weil Gotshal & Manges partner Will Rosen for its City private equity team. The firm's partners are currently in the process of voting on the appointment, with final confirmation of the move expected early next week.

Rosen handed in his notice at Weil Gotshal this summer (3 July) after 11 years at the New York firm's London arm.

Although he officially took time out to consider his next move and talked to a number of firms he was widely predicted to be heading to DLA Piper – with Legal Week flagging up the talks in July.

Rosen, who is expected to join DLA Piper in the new year, was Weil Gotshal's first-ever corporate assistant in London when he joined the firm and worked closely with office head Mike Francies on public M&A as well as private equity deals.

His past transactions include working alongside private equity partner Marco Compagnoni on the Barclay brothers' £100m acquisition of the De Vere Cavendish hotel in London's Jermyn Street and advising private equity houses Blackstone and Lion on the £1.27bn buy-out of Cadbury Schweppes' European drinks business in late 2005.

Other clients have included Texas Pacific Group and Summit Partners.

His departure came just over a year after Weil brought in an eight-lawyer private equity team from Lovells, led by Compagnoni.

DLA Piper joint chief executive Nigel Knowles commented: "We're delighted to have attracted him. Our corporate group have had a fabulous year and we look forward to an even better year and look forward to Will joining our team to form part of that year in 2008. "

DLA Piper has just over 30 private equity partners firmwide, with Rosen set to become the firm's 11th based in the City.

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