Paul Hastings Builds Premier UK Tax Platform With Addition of Leading Partner Duo Joining Forces in London

LONDON – Paul Hastings LLP announced today that premier tax lawyers Jenny Doak and Catherine Richardson have joined as partners in London, evolving the firm’s global tax practice into a leading platform and enhancing its ability to meet rising client demand for advice on complex strategic M&A, private equity, finance, capital markets, structured credit and funds transactions in the U.K. and internationally.

Joining from Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Doak has more than two decades of experience advising clients on complex tax matters, including public and private M&A transactions, joint ventures, financings, debt and equity capital markets, restructurings and special situations. In addition to her transactional practice, Doak represents clients in tax litigation and provides consultancy advice on standalone tax matters.

Richardson advises clients on virtually all aspects of direct and indirect U.K. and international tax, with specific capabilities in structured credit transactions. Her tax experience spans a wide range of international debt and equity capital markets, structured finance, fund finance, real estate financing and corporate M&A transactions and general banking and finance matters, including in distressed situations. She was previously at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Both join Paul Hastings’ London office during a period of robust growth, with revenue projected to be up 20-25 percent year-over-year and 70 percent over the past two years.

“Our London office is projected to be up over 20 percent this year, driven by incredible demand across all of our transactional practices. The addition of Jenny and Catherine and likely more tax hires to come reflects our strategic priority of building a premier tax practice in London—and globally— providing intellectual capital and execution support to meet this record demand,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “Being a market leader in London is a strategic priority for our firm, so it is essential that we continue to evolve and strengthen with premier talent like Jenny and Catherine in order to continue to take market share for sophisticated clients on their most complex matters.”

Doak’s practice spans multiple sectors, with particular strength in energy and infrastructure and TMT. Her clients have included British Columbia Investment Management, Global Infrastructure Partners and Lone Star, among others. Recent representative matters include advising Avon Products Inc. through its Chapter 11 plan; Convex Insurance in relation to its investment by Onex and AIG, valued at $7 billion; and Goldman Sachs as a co-investor in the $2.7 billion take-private of Soho House & Co.

Richardson’s clients have included Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, CVC, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch, among others. Representative matters include advising BNP Paribas, as arranger, of the first European middle-market private credit CLO for Barings and acting for an ad hoc group of holders of Bayport Management’s senior unsecured social bonds in connection with Bayport’s recapitalization transaction.

“Paul Hastings’ transactional practices are experiencing exceptional momentum, handling some of the most complex and high-value deals worldwide,” said Doak. “I am excited to join at such a dynamic time for the firm and look forward to contributing to the continued growth of its leading transactional platform in London and across the globe.”

Doak is consistently ranked by Chambers UK for Tax and recognized by The Legal 500 as a leading partner in corporate tax. Doak has also been shortlisted for “Tax Lawyer of the Year” in the Euromoney Women in Business Law EMEA Awards and ranked by Mergerlinks as a “Top Female M&A Lawyer EMEA.”

Richardson is recognized by The Legal 500 UK in the Corporate Tax category and was named a Rising Star in Law.com International’s 2025 list of The UK Legal Industry's Best Up-And-Coming Women Lawyers, which noted her “technical brilliance and ability to navigate complex legal and jurisdictional issues.”

“It is impossible to ignore Paul Hastings’ trajectory and impressive track record setting the standard for complex financing transactions," said Richardson. “The opportunity to contribute to the firm’s continued growth and to strengthen its tax platform in the U.K. and beyond is tremendously exciting.”

The addition of Doak and Richardson continues the strong momentum of Paul Hastings’ global tax practice, which recently added partners Sherry Xie in New York, Christopher Mangin, Jr. and Doak’s former Weil tax colleagues Daniel Nicholas in Washington, D.C., and Alex Farr in Dallas.

Recognized by Chambers as a leading practice in the U.S. and Europe, the Paul Hastings global Tax Group guides clients through the tax and structuring issues that arise across the full spectrum of complex transactions the firm advises on, including M&A, private-equity-backed acquisitions and dispositions, as well as all areas of investment funds, asset management and finance, including structured and leveraged finance and alternative lending, capital markets, real estate and real estate funds transactions, and all aspects of restructurings. The practice and its members have been consistently recognized by ITR, including most recently in its World Leaders and Americas Tax Awards.

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations.