Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) today announced that Rebecca Ward, a highly experienced and trusted adviser in the private equity market, will join the firm as a partner in the Financial Sponsors group. Rebecca will further strengthen Freshfields’ world-class Financial Sponsor offering, which is one of the firm’s core growth areas and experiencing growing client demand.  She brings significant experience advising some of the most sophisticated private equity firms on complex domestic and cross-border transactions. Rebecca will complement the extensive existing expertise in the Global Transactions team, which is delivering exceptional work for clients. Last year, Freshfields was the leading adviser on European transactions, according to Bloomberg and Mergermarket deal rankings. Rebecca will join Freshfields after seventeen years at Dickson Minto, a boutique law firm specializing in private equity, where she spent the last nine years as partner. Commenting on the appointment, Charles Hayes, Co-head of the Financial Sponsors Group and partner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rebecca to the Financial Sponsors Group. In an ever more complex world, demand for our world class advice and services is higher than ever, and Rebecca’s deep experience and wealth of technical knowledge will be a huge asset to the team and our clients. We have no doubt that Rebecca will add huge value to the firm, bringing the knowledge, ambition and energy to inspire our team and further elevate our offer”. “This exciting new hire demonstrates the strong momentum in our market-leading Financial Sponsors practice, and Freshfields’ continued investment in our core growth areas” said Andrew Hutchings, Head of Freshfields’ transactions practice in London. “Rebecca will further strengthen our offering for clients and help us to meet the ever-increasing demand for our services in this area. I am absolutely delighted she is joining our first-class Financial Sponsor team.”