David J. Greene Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has announced it hired a former Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP private funds attorney, who is joining the team in New York and Washington, D.C., to work on fund formation matters and the operation and management of private investment funds.

David J. Greene has been welcomed to Weil as a partner in the firm's private funds group, it said in a statement Monday. He will represent clients in global fundraising matters, in structuring U.S. and international investment and operating platforms, and in negotiating strategic partnerships and co-investments, the firm highlighted.

Greene also advises sponsors across the energy, infrastructure, power and renewable industries, and he works with oil and gas sponsors, financial services sponsors, and with other private investment strategies, according to the statement.

In an email to Law360 Pulse Tuesday, Greene said his practice is a broad-based, alternative asset management practice that works with all sizes of funds, from startup venture funds to funds valued at over $15 billion. He has worked across a variety of strategies, he said, including with infrastructure, credit, buyouts and secondaries.

"Weil's private funds group has a global footprint, with more than 90 full-time dedicated private funds lawyers in the United States and Europe," Greene said. "The firm covers a broad range of the fund sponsor spectrum, from some of the largest, most well-established players to emerging participants. Not only is the practice moving from strength to strength, but I've found my new partners to be wonderfully collegial and friendly. I'm excited to be part of the growth story here at Weil."

For Greene, trends in the market are leaning toward innovation and consolidation, with many private equity clients trying "to look around the corner to meet their investor's needs," through new strategies, or structures.

"Secondly, consolidation across the industry is continuing to accelerate with a number of recent control deals in the asset management space," he added. "We are uniquely positioned to partner with clients on these assignments by bringing together a multidisciplinary team of M&A, regulatory, private funds and tax practitioners."

Andrew Chizzik, co-head of Weil's U.S. private funds group, told Law360 Pulse that Greene's new role "underscores the continued expansion" of the private funds practice, and the level "of market demand we're seeing from sponsors across strategies."

"We're advising on an increasingly broad range of [funds], structures and strategic initiatives, and adding a partner of David's quality and experience strengthens our ability to support clients at scale across the global platform," Chizzik said in an email. "In addition to being an outstanding attorney, David is also a wonderful human being, and we couldn't be more excited about him joining our platform."

A University of Virginia School of Law graduate, Greene started his career at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he spent more than 12 years. He joined Simpson Thacher in 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Barry Wolf, executive partner with Weil, said in a statement that Greene is "a highly accomplished private funds lawyer with deep technical expertise and a strong reputation for client service."

"We are thrilled to welcome him to Weil and confident that he will be an excellent substantive and cultural fit both for the private funds group and the firm more broadly," Wolf said.

Michael J. Aiello, chair of Weil's corporate department, said in a statement that Greene's "impressive combination of sophisticated fund formation experience and commercial judgment" will be a benefit to the firm's clients.

"He has advised a broad spectrum of fund clients, including institutional sponsors, and his arrival strengthens our ability to support clients in today's increasingly complex and competitive environment," Aiello said of Greene.