In the cutthroat world of global private equity, where deals can hinge on a single clause or connection, Mayer Brown just landed a coup that’s sending ripples through London’s legal corridors. The powerhouse firm has recruited Tessa Agar, a celebrated “rising star” from Goodwin Procter, to supercharge its corporate and private equity practices in the U.K. capital.
This high-profile lateral move, announced on October 6, 2025, underscores Mayer Brown’s aggressive push into private capital amid a booming European market. As searches for “private equity hires London” spike 30% year-over-year—fueled by trends like “mid-market PE deals” and “corporate lateral moves”—Agar’s arrival slots perfectly into the narrative of U.S. firms bulking up their transatlantic benches. With over a decade of experience advising sponsors and portfolio companies, Agar brings a sector-spanning expertise that spans technology, software, healthcare, telecoms, financial services, and consumer goods. Her practice focuses on buyouts, bolt-ons, and exits, often navigating complex cross-border transactions that keep multinational clients one step ahead.
Agar’s career trajectory reads like a blueprint for legal stardom. She kicked off at SJ Berwin in 2009, honing her skills in leveraged finance and M&A before jumping to Shearman & Sterling in 2013, where she tackled high-stakes private equity work for blue-chip funds. In 2017, she joined Goodwin Procter as a counsel, rising to partner in 2021 amid the firm’s own PE expansion. There, she advised on landmark deals, including a £500 million secondary buyout for a European software giant and a cross-jurisdictional healthcare carve-out valued at €300 million. Her accolades? Repeated nods as a “Rising Star” in private equity by Law.com International and inclusion in the Female Rising Stars list, cementing her as a go-to for innovative deal structuring.
James West, head of Mayer Brown’s private equity practice in London, didn’t mince words in welcoming her aboard. “Tessa will be a great asset to our market-leading private equity practice,” West said in a firm statement. “Her arrival enhances our global private capital platform and underscores our commitment to continued investment in our London offering.” This hire caps a banner year for Mayer Brown in Europe, following the addition of private equity partner Mark Evans in September, leveraged finance duo David Miles and Philip Butler, and structured finance specialists Chris McGarry and Adam Farrell—all in London. Across the Channel in Frankfurt, the firm snagged PE partners Dr. Octávio de Sousa and Nikolai Sokolov earlier this year, signaling a full-court press to rival the likes of Kirkland & Ellis and Paul, Weiss in the mid-market arena.
The legal grapevine is buzzing with reactions. On LinkedIn, peers hailed Agar’s move as “a masterstroke for Mayer Brown’s PE firepower,” with one former colleague at Goodwin posting, “Tessa’s the real deal—clients will flock.” Industry watchers, however, flag the talent wars’ intensity: London’s top firms poached over 150 partners in 2025 alone, per The Lawyer’s lateral hire tracker, as PE deal volumes rebound 15% from last year’s slump. A source close to the negotiations quipped to Legal Business, “Goodwin’s loss is Mayer’s gain, but expect retaliation hires soon.” Agar herself, in a low-key profile update, emphasized her excitement for “scaling innovative strategies in a dynamic market.”
For U.S. readers with eyes on transatlantic business, this shuffle packs real punch. Economically, it juices cross-border deal flow: American PE giants like Blackstone and KKR, already Mayer Brown stalwarts, gain seamless U.K. support for £10 billion-plus funds targeting Europe. Lifestyle-wise, think faster timelines for execs jetting between New York and London—fewer headaches on regulatory hurdles means more time for Hamptons weekends or Napa escapes. Technologically, Agar’s tech-sector savvy aligns with AI-driven due diligence tools reshaping PE, benefiting Silicon Valley VCs eyeing European startups. Politically, post-Brexit trade pacts like the U.S.-U.K. deal (ratified in July 2025) amplify these hires, easing tariffs on services and boosting bilateral M&A by 20%. Even sports enthusiasts note the tie-in: PE-backed franchises, from NFL expansions to Premier League clubs, lean on such expertise for ownership shifts.
User intent cuts to the chase here—searches for “Tessa Agar Mayer Brown” or “private equity partner hires 2025” crave insider scoops on career leaps and firm strategies, not fluff. Mayer Brown’s management playbook? A deliberate build-out: Targeting mid-market sweet spots (deals under €1 billion) to dodge mega-fund volatility, while layering in finance pros for one-stop-shop appeal. This isn’t scattershot hiring; it’s chess, positioning the firm for a projected 12% uptick in European PE activity through 2026, per Preqin data.
As Mayer Brown’s London squad swells, Tessa Agar’s integration promises to ignite fresh deal momentum, fortifying the firm’s edge in a fiercely competitive field. With whispers of more hires on the horizon, the U.K. legal scene braces for an even hotter talent scrum, where rising stars like Agar dictate the pace.
By Sam Michael
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Tessa Agar Mayer Brown, private equity hires London, Goodwin Procter lateral move, mid-market PE deals, corporate partner addition, London law firm expansion, rising star private equity