Clifford Chance hires Ashurst fund head

Just two days after it emerged that global private equity head, David Walker was leaving, Clifford Chance has done some poaching of its own. The firm has named Xavier Comaills as head of its French private funds group, according to a Clifford Chance statement.

Comaills will leave his current position as head of Ashurst Paris's funds formation group to join the magic circle firm. He brings with him a team of four lawyers: Tiana Rambatomanga, Cyril Fiat, Marie Preat and Diane Campion de Poligny. 

Notable work for Comaills and his team while at Ashurst included Coller Capital's 2011’s spin-out of Crédit Agricole Investment Finance's private equity business.

Ashurst was not immediately available to comment on Comaills’ departure.

Prior to Ashurst, Comaills worked at SJ Berwin for seven years in the firms fund structuring team. 

In a statement Clifford Chance's global head of investment funds, Mark Shipman, welcomed the arrival of Comaills, saying “With regulation such as AIFM [the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive] on the rise in the investment funds space, continued investment in the European group is particularly important for us to help support our clients in their fund raising activities both in Europe and globally.”