Latham & Watkins has hired its third lateral partner this year for its expanding Houston office.
The firm is expected to announce today that it picked up Ivana K. Rouse from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. She will be a partner in the firm’s corporate department and a member of the investment funds practice.
Rouse counsels an array of private funds, including private equity-like energy, credit and mid-market funds, cryptocurrency funds and hedge funds. She also has advised fund sponsors on fundraising activites and internal operations and has worked on special situations funds, open-ended funds, hybrid hedge/private equity funds and drug royalty funds.
The SMU-trained lawyer was part of the Akin team in 2017 that advised BlackGold Capital Management on its second fund, which raised $165 million. She made partner at Akin in 2016.
The number of Houston-based private equity funds has increased over the past few years and law firms have expanded their fund-raising practices, including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Kirkland & Ellis.
Since the beginning of the year, Latham has announced the additions of finance lawyer Trevor Wommack from Vinson & Elkins and M&A attorney Jonathan Castelan from Kirkland.