Jones Day private equity partner Mike Weir has joined White & Case today (12 March), with his departure following several other exits from Jones Day in London.

Weir, who has spent five years at Jones Day, will primarily focus on White & Case's private equity clients, while also helping to build other key investor areas including alternative capital providers, family offices and real estate.

White & Case executive partner in London, Oliver Brettle, said: "The 2020 strategy includes reinforcing our private equity industry group and global mergers and acquisitions practice with leading teams in our strategic regions, particularly the UK. Hiring Mike supports the vision of having a top-tier firm for our private equity clients in the London market."

Weir's departure is the fourth partner exit from Jones Day's London office this year.

Last month, corporate partner Dan Coppel and financial institutions regulatory partner John Ahernand left the firm, for Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) and Katten Muchin Rosenman respectively.

Those exits followed that of leveraged finance partner Paul Simcock, who left Jones Day alongside two associates to join Vinson & Elkins in London in late January.

Both Weir and Simcock joined Jones Day from Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), with Weir joining in 2013 and Simcock a year later.

While at BLP, Weir worked on a number of key mandates with the UK firm's then global head of private equity Raymond McKeeve, including acting for management on Dunedin's £44m buyout of Red Commerce in 2011, and Darwin Private Equity on its acquisition of Plum Baby in 2010. McKeeve also joined Jones Day in 2013.

According to Jones Day's website and following Weir's exit, there are nine London private equity partners left at the firm.

Jones Day saw a number of London partner departures during 2015-16, including several practice heads. Tensions around the firm's infamous lack of transparency over pay and a disconnection between the London office and the rest of the firm were blamed by some for the spate of exits.

However, the firm has made several notable partner hires in continental Europe since then.

It boosted its Brussels office with a five-lawyer team, including two local partners, from White & Case in 2016, and last year hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's entire Paris real estate team.