Sagent Advisors, an independent M&A advisory firm, has hired Jonathan Bayer as general counsel and chief compliance officer. Bayer brings more than a decade of legal and transactional experience to Sagent, having served as legal counsel at a number of financial institutions, investment banks and corporate law firms throughout his career. He will be based in the company’s New York office.

Bayer joins Sagent from global insurance broker Willis Group where he served as chief counsel for the company’s Capital Markets and Advisory Division since 2009. Prior to joining Willis Group, he worked at Lehman Brothers as counsel to the Investment Banking division, advising on capital markets, M&A, leveraged finance, private equity and other transactions. He served the same role at Barclays Capital after it acquired Lehman Brothers’ North American operations.