When heavyweight partner Ian Bagshaw left White & Case’s London office earlier in 2021, many across the market speculated as to whether the firm’s European private equity team could continue to compete for top end work.

At the time of his retirement, several people said Bagshaw was the corporate practice’s “highest-earning partner” in Europe; that his departure would represent the loss of tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue—as much as $40 million, according to one person.