Rebecca Wilsker spent 15 years building a corporate practice across Boston and beyond, advising private equity funds and technology companies through complex transactions. On 23rd March, she made the transatlantic leap to Burges Salmon, the independent UK firm based in Bristol.
The move signals ambition on both sides.
Wilsker joins as a Director in the Corporate and M&A team, bringing what the firm describes as deep international experience—including expertise in her native US—at a moment when cross-border mandates are multiplying. She’ll focus on technology and private equity work, sectors where UK independents increasingly compete against Magic Circle rivals and US firms’ London outposts for high-value instructions.
Her background spans major lifecycle events: mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, divestitures, joint ventures. She’s guided private companies and their backers through cross-border deals, built relationships with founders and management teams, and advised on corporate governance and equity compensation. Tech and tech-enabled businesses formed the core of her practice.
“I’m really pleased to be joining Burges Salmon and to contribute to the continued growth of its market-leading Corporate and M&A practice and its expanding international reach,” Wilsker said. “Having known the firm for many years from across the pond both by its stellar reputation and as co-counsel, I’ve seen first-hand the collaborative culture and high-quality client work and I’m excited to work alongside my new colleagues to continue to support our clients’ needs.”
She arrives from Holland & Knight, where she held partnership and co-chaired the firm’s Technology & Telecommunications Industry Sector Group. Before that, nearly a decade at Choate, Hall & Stewart in Boston.
Nick Graves, who heads Burges Salmon’s Corporate and M&A team, framed the appointment as both complement and capacity boost. “It’s great to welcome Rebecca to the team,” he noted. “Her extensive experience in private equity and international M&A complements our existing strengths and supports the increasing volume of cross-border work we are seeing. Rebecca’s commercial approach and international perspective make her a strong addition to the firm.”
That volume matters. UK firms have reported climbing demand for advice on transactions spanning multiple jurisdictions, particularly those involving US counterparties or investors. Private equity dealmaking, despite broader economic headwinds, remains active in technology sectors where valuations have stabilised after the corrections of 2022 and 2023.
For Burges Salmon, an independent competing against larger platforms, hiring a US partner with established relationships and sector expertise offers a pathway into instructions that might otherwise flow to firms with bigger American footprints. For Wilsker, the shift provides a platform to work across UK and international mandates from a firm she’s observed as co-counsel over multiple years.
She’ll work closely with colleagues across the practice on both domestic and cross-border matters. The question now is whether other UK independents follow suit, raiding US partnerships to fuel their own international expansion.
