L&W leveraged finance practitioner joins A&O

Allen & Overy has boosted its London leveraged finance practice by hiring a counsel from Latham &…

Allen & Overy has boosted its London leveraged finance practice by hiring a counsel from Latham & Watkins.

Bradley Weyland has been hired as a high yield partner in Allen & Overy’s London leveraged finance division, where he brings experience in high yield bonds, credit facilities and bridge loans, with a focus on acting for investment banks, private equity and corporates on Term B Loan facilities and capital markets transactions.

“Leveraged debt as an asset class has proven to be particularly resilient during the past 18 months, with 2020 being the second most active year for high yield issuance in a decade,” explained global leveraged finance co-head Nick Clark in a statement, adding that Weyland’s “arrival will enhance our global integrated high yield and loan offering enabling us to continue delivering our clients a leading one stop solution for advice across the capital structure”.

Weyland has made the move from Latham & Watkins, where he was taken on as an associate in 2002, becoming counsel in 2014, a position which he has held for the last six years.

Head of European high yield Kevin Muzilla said: “With the convergence of deal terms across the United States and Europe markets and loans and high yield products, bench strength in both geographies and specialisms in the leveraged finance market is imperative.”

Muzilla added: “High yield expertise continues to be critical both for standalone high yield instructions, and also for loan instructions where covenant terms are based on bond market norms and drafting.”

Weyland’s arrival follows that of London leveraged finance partners Annette Kurdian and Robert Burt, who joined the firm in May.

Allen & Overy raided Simmons & Simmons in London in 2019, and it augmented its New York leveraged finance practice by hiring two partners from White & Case in June this year.