Financial News cites Edwards Gibson end-of-year data on rise of in-house moves
February 2026
In the Financial News article 'Why Slaughter and May is pushing into private equity', Zoe Hu and Adam Mawardireport that Slaughter and May is accelerating its private equity ambitions, five years after tasking partners Harry Bacon and Filippo de Falco with scaling the practice. Once known primarily for its blue‑chip corporate and disputes pedigree, the firm is now positioning itself as a credible mid‑market PE contender by deepening relationships with US houses increasingly active in UK and European deals.
The article also tracks a marked rise in high‑profile moves from in‑house roles back into private practice, with recent examples at Ropes & Gray, Dechert, Clifford Chance, Blackstone and Travers Smith. Edwards Gibson’s data anchors this analysis—in 2025, 34 London partner moves came from in‑house roles, representing 5% of all partner hires—a proportion consistent with 2023 and 2024 but significantly higher than the 16 moves recorded in 2022, when in‑house hires made up just 3% of the total. This shift, highlighted by Financial News, reflects a market in which private equity‑focused teams continue to expand and firms remain highly competitive.
Read the full Financial News article here (paywall).