Legal Business

A&O high yield head retires ahead of Shearman tie-up as firm makes first combined partner promos

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Partnership promotions Allen & OveryKirkland & EllisShearman & Sterling

Prominent high-yield partner Kevin Muzilla has retired from Allen & Overy, in the latest departure from the practice ahead of next month’s A&O Shearman mega-merger.

Ranked in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for London high-yield, Muzilla joined A&O from Milbank as a partner in 2009, and has since headed up the firm’s leveraged finance teams, first the US and then Europe.


He has been active in the European high yield market since its inception, and has been involved in many market-defining deals, including advising the
underwriters on what was the largest Russian LBO financing in history
– the acquisition of Russian transportation group FESCO, which won the Legal Business Finance Team of the Year award in 2014.

His departure follows that of Marwa Elborai, also a Legal 500 high-yield leading individual, who left for Kirkland & Ellis last month after joining from Shearman in late 2022, while fellow high yield grandee Ward McKimm recently confirmed he would be retiring from Shearman ahead of the 1 May combination with A&O.

Another high yield specialist partner, Jeanette Cruz, also left A&O last August, according to filings on Companies House.

A&O said in a statement: ‘We would like to thank Kevin for the contribution that he has made during his time at A&O and wish him all the best for the future.’

A&O’s London high-yield bench is by no means totally depleted. Prominent partners remaining include US-qualified John Kicken, who joined in 2014 from Cravath, and Brad Weyland, who came in as a partner in 2021 from Latham & Watkins, where he was a counsel.

The magic circle firm is currently gearing up for the completion of its combination with Shearman; a deal which is of driven in large part by complementary finance expertise at both firms. Shearman’s London office includes Legal 500 high-yield leading individual Trevor Ingram and next generation partner Gordon Houseman, who made partner at the US firm in 2015 and 2021 respectively.

Elborai’s departure to Kirkland was followed last week by the news that A&O debt finance partner Vanessa Xu, who was made up in 2017, would also be joining the US firm’s London office.

However, these departures are to be offset by the first combined round of partner promotions at A&O Shearman, with 40 new partners announced in a joint press release issued today (8 April).

Of these, 32 come from A&O and eight from Shearman. This balance was ‘consistent with the relative size of the two firms and their geographic footprints’, the press release said, with A&O’s 80% share in line with its 78% share of the merged firm’s total headcount, according to data from last year’s Global 100. Last year A&O promoted 36 partners with 12 in the UK, while Shearman promoted ten, with one in the UK.

All nine of the new London partners came from A&O, with three each in banking and corporate. Thirteen have been made up to partner in the US, including five from A&O and eight from Shearman. The total also included 13 new partners in continental Europe, four in Asia, and one in the Middle East, all of which were from A&O.

Banking was the biggest overall practice area with ten promotions all from A&O. Corporate was in second with nine, including eight A&O corporate partners and one Shearman M&A partner. The new partners also included six in litigation, five in international capital markets and four in tax.

Full list of partner promotions:

Allen & Overy

New York
Lena Kiely, International Capital Markets
Puja Patel, Corporate
Derek Poon, International Capital Markets

Washington DC
Michael Sykes, Banking
Gideon Wiginton, Banking

London
Tim Bates, International Capital Markets
Imogen Carr, Corporate
Vanessa Morgan, Management
Rebecca Noble, Banking
Rachel O’Reilly, Banking
Kate Pumfrey, Litigation
Alex Shandro, Corporate
Jason Symington, Banking
David Weaver, Corporate

Brussels
Axel de Backer, Banking

Amsterdam
Luke Whibley, Banking

Paris
Laurie-Anne Ancenys, Corporate
Charles del Valle, Tax
Anne-Caroline Payelle, Corporate

Duesseldorf
Catharina Glugla, Corporate

Munich
Rauni Ahammer, Banking

Frankfurt
Tim Drach, Tax
David Schmid, Litigation
Sebastian Schulz, Litigation

Luxembourg
Baptiste Aubry, International Capital Markets
Franz Kerger, Tax
Madrid, Spain
Ishtar Sancho, Tax

Dubai
Arash Koozehkanani, Litigation

Jakarta
Mohammad Andrew, International Capital Markets

Singapore
Matthew Del Rosso, Banking
Jessica Lee, Banking
Ayesha Thapar, Corporate

Shearman & Sterling

New York
Melisa Brower, Compensation, Governance and ERISA
Jonathan Cheng, Antitrust
Joshua Ebersole, Litigation
Jai Garg, Compensation, Governance and ERISA
Christopher Glenn, Mergers & Acquisitions
Leila Siddiky, Litigation

Washington DC
Brian Hauser, Antitrust

Austin
Michelle Kwan, Emerging Growth

The promotions are broadly balanced along gender lines, with 23 men (57%) and 17 women made up.

alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Paul Weiss and Kirkland break revenue records amid London lateral shakeout

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Financial results Kirkland & EllisPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

Paul Weiss has broken through the $2bn global revenue mark, posting a 10.8% hike on last year, as the firm’s bold London recruitment drive continues to make headlines.

The firm’s 178 equity partners took home an average of $6.5m in 2023, with profit per equity partner (PEP) up 14.8% from $5.73m the previous year.

Overall profit came in at $1.17bn, while revenue per lawyer was up 5.3% to $1.98m from last year’s $1.88m.

In recent months, Paul Weiss has recruited some of the City’s biggest hitters, among a total of 17 partner hires. Most have joined from Kirkland & Ellis, following the defections of debt finance superstar Neel Sachdev and big-name corporate partner Roger Johnson in August. The duo joined to lead the US firm’s London office, initiating a wave of hires aimed at building up a substantial English law practice.

Sachdev brought with him a Kirkland team including debt finance partner Kanesh Balasubramaniam and capital markets partners Matthew Merkle and Deirdre Jones, while Johnson has assembled an M&A practice with ex-Kirkland partner Andreas Philipson, as well as a tax practice featuring former Kirkland partners Timothy Lowe and Cian O’Connor.

Other names joining from Kirkland have included debt finance partner Stefan Arnold-Soulby and technology and intellectual property transactions specialist John Patten.

Paul Weiss has also targeted the Magic Circle, starting with the hire of Linklaters M&A partner Will Aitken-Davies in September. Notably, Lowe, O’Connor and Patten also had stints at Linklaters.

In December, it came as no surprise when Paul Weiss hired from Linklaters again, bringing on Nicole Kar, the former head of the Magic Circle firm’s antitrust and foreign investment practice. Adding to the Linklaters alumni, the following month the firm hired public M&A partner Dan Schuster-Woldan.

Clifford Chance has also been a target, with high-profile private equity partner Christopher Sullivan and acquisition finance partner Taner Hassan coming over in December, and just last week (18 March), junior private equity partner Oliver Marcuse followed suit.

Outside of the Magic Circle, Paul Weiss has also hired former Ropes & Gray competition partner Annie Herdman, who also served at Kirkland earlier in her career.

The recruitment drive has seen a complete changing-of-the guard for Paul Weiss in London, which has had a modest City presence without English law capability since 2001. Last May deputy London head Ramy Wahbeh and corporate partner Kaisa Kuusk both left to join Sidley, followed by the departure of London managing partner Alvaro Membrillera to Kirkland in early August, a move which was one of a number of factors which sparked the flurry of moves in the opposite direction.

On the back of the new additions, the firm announced in October it was set to move into Twitter’s former UK headquarters in Soho.

Recent London deal highlights for Paul Weiss have included advising General Atlantic on its acquisition of a majority stake in coffee shop Joe & the Juice from Valedo Partners, with Johnson and Balasubramaniam working alongside partners in the US.

The seven billion dollar law firm

Despite the departures in London, Kirkland has consolidated its position as the largest law firm in the world, with global revenue increasing by 10% last year to $7.2bn, according to The American Lawyer.

The firm’s 539 equity partners took home an average of $8m as PEP increased 5.8%, with overall profit standing at $4.3bn. RPL also increased by 7.5% from $1.9m last year, to $2.05m.

As well as highly regarded private equity partner Membrillera, the firm has made a number of other significant recent additions to its team, including debt finance partners Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea, who joined from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, while Herbert Smith Freehills ESG head Rebecca Perlman also recently came on board in London.

O’Shea, alongside London debt finance colleague Jerome Hoyle, were recently part of a global team advising KKR on financing for its voluntary public takeover offer to all shareholders of Encavis, a leading German wind and solar park operator.

The firm’s restructuring team has also handled a number of significant mandates of late, such as advising global engineering and construction business McDermott International on the cross-border restructuring of around $2.6bn of the group’s secured debt facilities.

In 2023 Kirkland also opened a new office in Riyadh, recruiting corporate partner Noor Al-Fawzan and capital markets Manal Al-Musharaf from Latham & Watkins and White & Case respectively, to join the 20th global office of the Chicago giant.

elisha.juttla@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Infrastructure profile: Sara Pickersgill – ‘Pick something you love doing and do it only for as long as you love it’

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Infrastructure Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis’ Sara Pickersgill on switching track from opera singer to infrastructure lawyer and why The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe offers salient lessons for a career in the City

Why did you want to be a lawyer and why infrastructure in particular? Has it delivered what you expected?

Legal Business

The onslaught continues: Paul Weiss raids Kirkland again to hire City IP partner

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Strategic recruitment Kirkland & EllisPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

Just when the market thought Paul Weiss had eased up on its hiring spree in the run-up to Christmas, the firm has hired John Patten, a partner in the London technology and intellectual property (IP) transactions practice of Kirkland & Ellis.

The move sees the Wall Street giant continue to pursue with gusto the build-out of the English law practice that has gathered momentum in short order, much to the chagrin of the management of Kirkland and Linklaters, among others.

For his part, Patten, who is joining Paul Weiss as a full equity partner, has been a partner at Kirkland since October 2021, before which he was a trainee, and subsequently an associate at Linklaters.

His practice focuses on advising clients on commercial and corporate transactions in which technology and IP play a role, as well as advising on data protection compliance with European data privacy laws.

The hire brings Paul Weiss another step closer to establishing a top-flight corporate practice to complement the formidable finance practice brought over from Kirkland in August by rainmaker Neel Sachdev.

Sachdev, along with private equity star Roger Johnson who defected from Kirkland around the same time, are co-leading Paul Weiss’ London office. The M&A offering also includes former Linklaters partner Will Aitken-Davies and former Kirkland partner Andreas Philipson.

If the strategy for Paul Weiss in London is to eventually be able to service all areas of private equity, the plan certainly seems to be coming together.

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

One in, one out: Deal star Johnson to exit Kirkland as Membrillera joins from Paul Weiss

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Strategic recruitment Kirkland & Ellis

Roger Johnson, among the first wave private equity stars to defect to Kirkland & Ellis from the Magic Circle, has left the Chicago powerhouse’s London office.

The move was quickly followed by news that Kirkland has hired the well-respected private equity partner Alvaro Membrillera from Paul Weiss in the City, where he was London managing partner.

Johnson, a leading individual for high-value private equity according to The Legal 500, was Linklaters’ influential Nordic dealmaker when his departure in 2015 for Kirkland sent shockwaves around the market.

He was believed to have joined Kirkland on a $5m package after turning down an offer from White & Case and had as a key client Swedish private equity house EQT.

Johnson made the move from Linklaters to Kirkland hot on the heels of rising star Matthew Elliott the same year. His move also prompted other corporate partners to leave Linklaters, including the high-profile David Holdsworth and Stuart Boyd.

A spokesperson for Kirkland said: ‘We do not comment on personnel matters.  But we can confirm that Roger Johnson is no longer affiliated with the firm.  We wish him well in his future endeavours.’

For his part, Membrillera acts for private equity firms and their portfolio companies on cross-border M&A and leveraged transactions across Europe.

Jon Ballis, chair of Kirkland’s executive committee said of the hire: ‘Alvaro is one of Europe’s top private equity lawyers with substantial experience leading complex cross-border transactions for sophisticated financial sponsors. We’re very pleased that the Kirkland platform continues to attract leading talent like Alvaro, particularly in Europe, which is one of our fastest growing markets.’

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Feeling the chill? Kirkland reports just 8% revenue increase for 2022

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Financial results 2022/23 Kirkland & Ellis

Often the bellwether for global law firm financials, the world’s highest-grossing firm, Kirkland & Ellis, has posted muted revenue and profit growth for 2022, with turnover up 8% and partner profits up just 2% – its slowest performance year-on-year for some time. 

Kirkland made major waves in the legal sector last year, when a 25% surge in revenue saw it become the first law firm to pass the $6bn revenue mark. Its 2022 financials show a further increase, though a more modest one, with a steady rise of 8% to $6.5bn. This more modest growth was also evident in PEP, which went up 2% to $7.5m, after jumping 19% to $7.4m in 2021. Revenue per lawyer, meanwhile, declined 5%, to $1.9m.  

The firm’s increase in headcount partially explains these figures. The firm’s total number of lawyers rose by 13% in 2022, compared to 11% the previous year. The largest growth was in the number of non-equity partners, which went up 16% to 881 – the firm announced a record 193 partner promotions in October 2022 – a 28% increase on 2021. Meanwhile, the number of associates increased by 15% to 2,029, while the number of equity partners grew just 3%, to 505. These overall increases come despite two rounds of cuts to its lawyer headcount, in autumn 2022 and after performance reviews in spring 2023. 

While less impressive than its landmark 2021 results, Kirkland’s 2022 financials remain healthy at a time when a global slowdown in transactional work has seen some international firms post declines. Private equity, a core practice area for Kirkland, cooled down after a roaring 2021, though many in the market believe that a combination of significant cash reserves held by investors and more favourable economic indicators will soon produce a bounceback, and firms continue to make hires in the area, both in London and globally.  

Kirkland was also active in the London lateral hiring market over the last year, with recruiter Fox Rodney reporting 14 partner-level hires in calendar year 2022, leaving it as the most active US firm and the second-most active firm overall, behind Eversheds Sutherland. However, it was also second in London partner departures, with eight, behind Brown Rudnick’s 10.  

alex.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk  

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Kirkland unveils largest ever class as US firms reveal 2022 cohorts

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Partnership promotions Kirkland & Ellis

The first wave of US firms has announced their latest round of partner promotions, as Kirkland & Ellis, White & Case, Goodwin, Morgan Lewis and Covington & Burling revealed their classes of 2022.

Kirkland & Ellis has minted 193 lawyers in a new record for the expansive juggernaut, following the 151-strong round announced last year and the 145 promotions unveiled in 2020.

Legal Business

Welcome to Miami: Kirkland and Winston open in Florida as Willkie targets Frankfurt capital markets

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Office openings Kirkland & EllisWinston & Strawn

Winston & Strawn and Kirkland & Ellis have boosted their profiles on the US east coast by opening Miami offices, while Willkie Farr & Gallagher has continued its recent expansion in Frankfurt by establishing a capital markets practice.

Fresh off the back of becoming the first law firm to surpass $6bn in annual global revenue, Kirkland is looking to use the new Miami office to further its goal of attracting the best legal talent.

Corporate partners Jeremy Liss, Matthew Arenson, Jeffrey Swatzell (all Chicago) and Eduardo Leal (New York) are to launch the practice, which is set to open its doors this summer.

Jon Ballis, chairman of the executive committee, commented: ‘We are excited about the opportunity that Miami offers: a vibrant and growing business community where talent and capital are moving at a rapid pace. Kirkland’s ability to attract, train and retain the best legal talent is key to our continued success, and being present where that talent wants to be is critical.’

In April it was revealed that the Chicago-bred powerhouse had added $1.2bn to its top line to remain the world’s highest grossing law firm, as turnover surged 25% from $4.83bn to $6.042bn.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) also spiked 19%, increasing from $6.2m to $7.38m and revenue per lawyer also saw double-digit growth, from $1.8m to just shy of $2m.

Meanwhile, Winston & Strawn’s new office marks the firm’s largest expansion in five years. It will be initially staffed by six new lateral recruits. M&A partner Enrique Martin has joined from Jones Day and is to lead the office, while commercial litigators David Coulson and Gustavo Membiela have come over from Greenberg Traurig and Hunton Andrews Kurth respectively. Richard Puttré from Hogan Lovells will chair the Latin America projects group while Kimberly Prior and Daniel Stabile have joined from Shutts & Bowen to collectively lead the digital assets and blockchain technology team.

Enrique Martin said: ‘Miami’s unique position as a magnet for capital from across the globe makes it a vibrant forum for complex transactional and litigation work. Winston has an outstanding reputation in both areas. I am proud to be one of the initial partners of Winston in Miami, and I look forward to contributing to the office’s rapid growth and success.’

Talbert Navia, co-head of Latin America, added: ‘As supply chain issues continue to drive the need for cross-border trade with Latin America, we are seeing a corresponding need for clarity on a wide range of matters related to regulation, litigation, and capital flows. Miami represents the ideal location from which to address these and other business challenges on behalf of clients across the Americas.’

Elsewhere, Willkie has expanded its capital markets practice into its Frankfurt office.

Simon Weiss and Joseph Marx have joined the firm to lead the new offering, having previously worked at McDermott Will & Emery. Weiss, who has experience working in Germany and the US, advises on IPOs, equity-linked transactions and investment grade and high-yield bond offerings. Marx’s expertise include accelerated primary and secondary offerings, Rule 144A transactions, US registered offerings and private placement transactions.

The arrivals are the latest in a spree of hires in the region that has seen the New York-led outfit bring in over ten partner and counsel laterals in recent years.

Frankfurt lead, Georg Linde, said: ‘In the space of only two years we have added a number of new practices to our German offering, including real estate, litigation, restructuring, employment and regulatory law, while continuing to expand our private equity and M&A capabilities. Simon and Joe are well-known and talented practitioners. They will serve as the core of our new German capital markets practice, which will be a valuable resource to the expanding needs of our clients in Germany and across the firm.’

charles.avery@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Kirkland shortens equity track as it wages intensified war for talent

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Partnership Kirkland & Ellis

Kirkland & Ellis has shortened its path to equity partnership by a year in another audacious move that will doubtless make rivals sit up and take notice.

The move means that its most-talented lawyers will now be considered for equity partnership nine years out of law school, rather than 10.

The Chicago-bred firm has an unusual model in that it makes up large ranks of salaried partners on a fast track with associates able to make salaried partner six years after qualification – bucking the wider trend of pushing back promotions on a more opaque career track. Admission to the tightly-held equity will now be considered three years into non-equity partnership.

An internal firm memo circulated yesterday (1 December) stated: ‘Given the talent of our partnership and the increased responsibilities and experience gained in today’s environment, we believe that consideration for equity a year sooner is appropriate.’

In April, Kirkland said it had added $680m to its top line to beat Latham & Watkins yet again to remain the world’s highest-grossing law firm, as global turnover surged 16% to $4.83bn.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) hit $6.2m, up 19% on the $5.2m for 2019 even as Kirkland’s headcount grew 5% in 2020 to 2,725 lawyers. Revenue per lawyer increased 11% from $1.6m to around $1.8m.

The firm does not disclose regional breakdowns but London was believed to have substantially outpaced global growth at around 29%, growing revenue from $425m to roughly $550m.

In October, Kirkland again broke its own partnership promotion record, making up 151 globally and 19 in London. As with last year when the Chicago-bred giant outpaced itself with 145 global promotions and 16 in the City, the move continued an ascent that shows no signs of being thwarted by coronavirus concerns or any other.

nathalie.tidman@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Kirkland breaks own record again to make up 151 new partners and 19 in London

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Partnership promotions Kirkland & Ellis

With the boldness the market has come to expect from the world’s highest-grossing law firm, Kirkland & Ellis has again broken its own partnership promotion record, making up 151 globally and 19 in London.

As with last year when the Chicago-bred giant outpaced itself with 145 global promotions and 16 in the City, the move continues an ascent that shows no signs of being thwarted by coronavirus concerns or any other.

In London, four new partners have been added in M&A/private equity: Henry Birch; Nick-Raj Birdi; James Hunn and Cillian Moynihan, while three have been promoted in debt finance – Stefan Arnold-Soulby; Kanesh Balasubramaniam and James Collins.

Restructuring has seen three partner promotions in Ian Clarke, Hannah Crawford and Kai Zeng and investment funds has two new partners – Agne Eriksson and Katerina Syomina.

Antitrust and competition has added two in the form of Philipp Gnatzy and Athina Van Melkebeke with financial services regulatory partner Zach Milloy also making the grade, along with technology and IP transactions lawyer John Patten, IP transactions lawyer Peter Pereira, tax lawyer Art Ward and capital markets attorney Samita T. Ali-Khan.

Perhaps the most pressing matter on the minds of law firm leaders is the thorny issue of talent retention in a post-pandemic market where careers are more fluid than ever.

However, the now 2,900-lawyer firm has an unusual model in that it makes up large ranks of salaried partners before considering promotions to its tightly-held equity. Operating a fast track, associates can make salaried partner six years after qualification – bucking the wider trend of pushing back promotions on a less clear career track.

The rest of Kirkland’s new partners have been made up in the firm’s global offices spanning Austin, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Munich, New York, Paris and Washington DC.

The promotions coincided with Kirkland’s announcement that it has hired Linklaters partner Julia Dixon to its financial services regulatory practice in London.

In April, Kirkland said it had added $680m to its top line to beat  Latham & Watkins yet again to remain  the world’s highest-grossing law firm, as global turnover surged 16% to $4.83bn.

Profit per equity partner (PEP) hit $6.2m, up 19% on the $5.2m for 2019 even as Kirkland’s headcount grew 5% in 2020 to 2,725 lawyers. Revenue per lawyer increased 11% from $1.6m to around $1.8m.

The firm does not disclose regional breakdowns but London was believed to have substantially outpaced global growth at around 29%, growing revenue from $425m to roughly $550m.

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk