Squire Patton Boggs has expanded its Funds Practice in London with the appointment of Rob Eke as partner in its Financial Services Practice Group. Mr. Eke joins from MJ Hudson, the specialist service provider to the asset management industry, where he was a partner in its London office.

Mr. Eke specializes in fund formation and investor representation. He works across several asset classes and his practice is split between GP and LP advisory work. He advises GPs on the structuring, promotion and operation of private funds (with a focus on small to mid-market), as well as on ESG-related regulation, including SFDR and Taxonomy Regulations. His particular focus on the fund formation side is on the formation of private equity funds. Mr. Eke also advises institutional LPs on primary investments, co-investments and secondary acquisitions and disposals. His clients include pension schemes, fund managers, fund of funds and other fund investors. Among his most recent matters in 2022, he has advised on the formation of a private equity fund, acted on the formation of a solar energy infrastructure fund, and led on the simultaneous investment of five fund-of-funds clients into three investment funds raised by the same GP in parallel.

Mr. Eke joined MJ Hudson as a paralegal in 2013 and was admitted as a solicitor (England and Wales) in June 2015. He was made partner at MJ Hudson in November 2022. He holds a Law degree from King’s College London and attended the University of Law Guildford. He is an active speaker on and contributor to the funds industry – he developed MJ Hudson’s market intelligence initiative Private Equity Fund Terms Research, now in its 7th edition, and has co-authored a guide to launching private equity funds aimed at first time managers titled How to Launch a Private Equity / Venture Capital Fund.

Partner Steven Ward, Leader of the Funds Team in London, said, “We are very pleased to have Rob join us. He’s a skilled and experienced lawyer whose career has been focused from the outset exclusively on funds work. His commercial awareness means he will fit really well with our wider team, both financial services and corporate and private equity. Our practice has been extremely busy, with increased client demand, market opportunity, and regulatory change. Rob will prove a great new asset for our clients. As we grow the team this year, we will be able to upscale and offer even more to our diverse investor client base.”

Jonathan Jones, EMEA Managing Partner, added, “Our Funds practice has really taken off, with real synergies with our booming private equity and real estate finance work. We’re delighted to have Rob as part of the team, and we are committed to investing further in this area, which we see as a key part of our future growth alongside our other transactional teams.”