Michael Francies
Retired Managing Partner
Weil Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP

Mike Francies retired from the partnership in 2024. He was Managing Partner of Weil’s London office from 2000 – 2023 and Co-Managing Partner in 2024 and 1999. He was a partner in the Corporate group and a member of the Firm’s Management Committee.

Mike had experience in all types of public and private transactions, with an extensive track record spanning both cross-border and domestic across a range of industry sectors. He advised private equity funds, corporates and financial advisers in relation to private equity and M&A, joint ventures, IPOs and equity issues, and corporate restructurings. He was considered a leading transactional lawyer for advising on transformational domestic and cross-border deals, with Chambers and Legal 500 stating that Mike was “superb choice of counsel for…high-value M&A deals” and “a first-class PE lawyer”. He was recognised as an “exceptional lawyer”, “phenomenally hard-working and universally respected”, known for his “attentiveness and versatility” and for bringing “a depth of experience and deliver[ing] a great service.”

Mike was recognised by numerous legal and industry commentators over the years, including: reported by The Lawyer as the most recommended Private Equity lawyer in the UK by general counsel; featured in Private Equity Manager magazine’s ‘Legal Power 30’ list of the 30 most influential private equity lawyers; shortlisted as one of the UK’s Top Innovative Lawyers in the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards; awarded “Partner of the Year” at The Lawyer Awards; recognised as “Deal Lawyer of the Year” at the Legal Business Awards; and listed in The Times’ “Law 100: UK’s Most Powerful Lawyers”.