LOS ANGELES, MARCH 3, 2025: International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced today that private equity partner Frances Dales has joined the Firm as a partner in the U.S. Private Equity Group, based in the Los Angeles office.

Frances represents private equity funds, private companies and public companies in a variety of complex business transactions, including leveraged buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, minority and joint venture investments, growth equity investments, carve-outs and divestitures. She has experience counseling clients in a number of industries, including software, asset management, consumer products and healthcare.

“We are thrilled to welcome Frances to the Firm as we continue our ongoing expansion in California,” said Weil Executive Partner Barry Wolf. “Frances is a talented lawyer with impressive experience executing private equity transactions at the highest level. She will be an outstanding addition to our team.”

“At Weil, we are always focused on hiring top talent who share our collaborative, client-focused culture and can help us continue our upward trajectory,” said Michael J. Aiello, Chairman of Weil’s Corporate Department. “We are excited about adding Frances to the Private Equity team and confident that she will fit in seamlessly.” 

“Many of us have known Frances for years and we have been consistently impressed by her deal-making skills and strong client advocacy,” said Tana Ryan, Managing Partner of Weil’s Los Angeles office. “She will be an invaluable addition to our group as we continue to establish a market-leading West Coast presence and strengthen our top-tier global Private Equity team.”

Frances arrives from Kirkland & Ellis, where she was a partner in the Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions practices.

Today’s announcement is part of an ongoing expansion of Weil’s Private Equity practice as well as the buildout of the Firm’s California presence. Weil recently announced the arrival in Los Angeles of private equity dealmaker Alice Yuan, who joined high-profile lateral partners Tana Ryan and Nav Rekhi – both of whom are dually resident in the Firm's Los Angeles and San Francisco offices.

“I am very excited to join the partnership at Weil as the Firm continues to expand its Private Equity Group in California,” said Frances Dales. “I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues to advise our global corporate clients on their most sophisticated and complex transactions.”

About Weil’s New Los Angeles and San Francisco Offices

In summer 2024, Weil announced the opening of two new offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco – having been a leading firm in Silicon Valley for more than three decades. Weil’s Los Angeles office is located at 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1800, in Century City. The Firm also opened an office in downtown San Francisco in summer 2024. These two offices add significantly to Weil’s global presence and continue the buildout of our global private equity practice.

About Weil’s Private Equity Practice

Weil's global Private Equity practice is recognized by the industry as being one of only a very small number of elite market leaders in this field. Our clients include many of the highest-profile private equity funds, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, as well as family offices and other equity financial investors. Weil advises more than 300 private equity clients worldwide, ranging from middle-market buyout firms to each of the 10 largest global private equity funds and 80% of the top 25 largest global private equity funds as ranked by PEI 300 2024.  Our advice covers all aspects of the full life cycle of investments.

About Weil

Founded in 1931, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP has been a preeminent provider of legal services for more than 90 years. With approximately 1,200 lawyers in offices on three continents, Weil has been a pioneer in the marketplace and a first-mover in the establishment of many significant practice areas. The Firm’s four departments, Corporate, Litigation, Restructuring, and Tax, Executive Compensation & Benefits, and more than two dozen practice groups are consistently recognized as leaders in their respective fields.