Goodwin Procter seeks more PE attorneys for SF office

The firm has bulked up through a combination of increased market share and overall growth in private equity on the West Coast, as Goodwin Procter clients such as Thoma Bravo raise larger funds and ink deals.

After joining Goodwin Procter in 2006 from Hogan & Hartson LLP, Partner Hovey Kemp moved to California from the firm’s Washington, D.C., office about three and a half years ago. Since then, he’s helped the firm hire more people to offer a full range of services to private equity groups on the West Coast.

Goodwin’s San Francisco office offers legal expertise in deals, debt, taxes and employee benefits. It’s still looking for more talent to beef up those pillars. 

“We’re not done,” Kemp said. “We feel like we could use more help on the private equity deal side and on the debt team. We’re still looking and we have room to grow. We’ve got the work.”

As part of the firm’s emphasis on the West Coast, A.J. Weidhaas, co-chair of the practice, has moved to the firm’s Los Angeles office to build up Goodwin’s private equity and corporate offerings in Southern California.

In its most recent hire, the firm named Fredrich Lim as a partner in its private equity group in San Francisco. He joined the firm from Kirkland & Ellis, where he was a partner in the debt finance group. He’ll be working with Partner Laura Rupenian, who built up the office’s debt practice.

Overall, Goodwin Procter’s private equity group in California has grown revenue by 21 percent through July, compared to the year-ago period, with success in working on middle-market transactions.

Mid-market deals that partners have worked on recently include Thoma Bravo’s acquisition of iPipeline, TA Associates’ investment in Procare Software, and JMI Equity’s investment in Intelex Technologies.

Action Item: Reach Private Equity Group Partner Hovey Kemp at hkemp@goodwinprocter.com.