Top 100 US firm expands London arm with senior fund appointment from Travers Smith

Travers Smith is set to lose the head of its investment funds group, Bob Barry, to the London arm of US practice Proskauer Rose.

Barry, who has been a partner at Travers since 2003, advises on fund formations for private equity, real estate, fund of funds and hedge fund clients. In the past, he has advised groups including RBS Asset Management and Silverfleet Capital Partners.

In response, Travers has moved private equity partner Ian Shawyer into the investment funds group alongside Sam Kay, who became a partner in 2008.

Barry is the first partner hire for Proskauer in the City since October 2008, when the firm recruited Michael Crosby from Addleshaw Goddard. He brings the number of partners in Proskauer's London arm to five, including London managing partner Matthew Hudson, who previously headed O'Melveny & Myers' City arm, and US-qualified investment funds partner Mary Kuusisto, who transferred from the Boston office at the end of last year.

David Tegeler, co-head of Proskauer's private investment funds practice group, commented: "[Barry's] addition is a major coup for us. We have worked across the table from him for many years and know he will serve as an invaluable complement to our practice and a resource to fund clients around the world."

When the firm launched in the City in 2007, Proskauer said it would focus on three core areas: private investment funds, cross-border M&A and some specialist finance work.

Proskauer firmwide chairman Allen Fagin added: "We decided to open in areas in London to support our practices in which we saw significant client demand. What is exciting about [Barry] joining is that we have a dedicated partner with a superb reputation concentrating on private equity fund formation."

The US firm has also made moves to boost its funds formation practice in other offices, last month hiring funds specialist Caroline Chabrerie from SJ Berwin in Paris.