Three Prominent Partners in Real Estate Finance and Structured Finance to Join Latham’s Premier London Practice, Expanding Market Leadership
Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that renowned real estate finance partners David Oppenheimer and David Varne, and market-leading structured finance partner Lucy Oddy, will join the firm’s London office. They join from A&O Shearman and bring decades of experience advising lenders, private equity firms, companies, and other financial investors on a variety of complex, cross-border real estate finance and structured finance transactions.
“We are delighted to welcome David and David to our team and to have Lucy rejoin us. Each partner is exceptionally talented in their field, and their track record and deep sector knowledge have earned them a reputation as being among the best,” said Rich Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins. "Their extensive experience at the cutting edge of the practice, particularly at the intersection of real estate and private capital, aligns well with our practice strengths. We are excited to welcome them to our firm and to add their knowledge and expertise to our strong and growing team in London and globally.”
Widely regarded as two of the top real estate finance partners in the market, Oppenheimer and Varne represent real estate lenders, private equity funds, and other investors across Europe on transactions spanning the full spectrum of real estate products, including working closely with Oddy on CMBS and back leverage transactions. Oddy, a highly regarded structured finance partner, brings more than 20 years’ experience advising clients, including financial institutions, funds, private equity firms, and corporates on a broad range of asset-backed finance transactions, with a particular focus on the real estate sector. She also advises sellers and buyers on cross-border debt portfolio disposals and related financings covering various jurisdictions across Europe.
“Adding both Davids and Lucy is another significant development for our London practice,” added Ed Barnett, London Office Managing Partner at Latham & Watkins. “With years of leadership under their belts, they are exceptional additions to our team in the City. We are uniquely positioned to guide private equity firms, investment banks, investors, growth companies, and PLCs through their most complex, high-value transactions, and adding this group to our platform adds even more heft to our capabilities. David, David, and Lucy’s expertise matches our key growth areas not only in London but also across Europe and globally, and their arrival builds on previous additions to the practice, including real estate partner Jeremy Kenley and structured finance partners Franz Ranero and James Smallwood.”
Latham has significantly expanded its London real estate and structured finance offering over the last 12 months, welcoming leading real estate private equity partner Jeremy Kenley and promoting real estate private equity lawyer Chris Cox to partner. The firm also deepened its structured finance practice with the addition of leading practitioners Franz Ranero and James Smallwood, who joined as part of an 11-strong CLO team in the summer of 2025.
“We are building the preeminent global real estate practice. David and David are at the very top of the debt market in Europe, widely respected for their expertise, track record, and work on innovative real estate finance deals,” commented Douglas Heitner, Global Chair of Latham’s Real Estate Practice. “They fit into our team-first culture and will be looked to as current and future leaders of our practice, globally. The real estate market presents immense opportunities for growth, and our platform at Latham is built for it.”
“The recent investments we’ve made in our Structured Finance Practice globally have given us tremendous momentum in the market,” said Jeremiah Wagner, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Structured Finance Practice. “Lucy is an outstanding practitioner with first-class technical skills and an impressive track record advising on some of the most sophisticated asset-backed finance transactions, including working closely with David and David on some of the largest and most complex recent issuance of CMBS in the European market. Her incredible experience at the intersection of structured finance and real estate complements our market-leading capabilities. We are thrilled to have her rejoin our team, as she will be a tremendous asset to our clients and a key contributor to the growth of our practice.”
Oppenheimer received his LLB from the University of Leeds and completed his LPC at Nottingham Law School, Varne received a BA/LLB from the University of Western Australia and his GDL from the College of Law Western Australia, and Oddy received a BA from the University of Oxford and completed her LPC at Nottingham Law School.