Linklaters has made a major corporate hire in the US, with Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz M&A partner Mark Gordon joining as Americas managing partner and global M&A co-chair.
Gordon will join Linklaters this November after more than three decades at Wachtell, where he joined in 1994, making partner in 2001.
Linklaters senior partner Aedamar Comiskey said of the news: ‘We have a clear ambition: to build a top-tier team in the U.S. as a core part of our global offering. As a preeminent M&A lawyer, Mark joining us is a landmark advance toward this ambition. Alongside our other recent strategic hires, we will use this momentum to accelerate our US growth.’
Americas chair George Casey added: ‘We are creating something distinctive in the market: elite US capability, fully integrated with an unparalleled global platform. Mark’s decision to join the firm is a major step for our US M&A practice and I look forward to working with him.’
Gordon will replace antitrust partner Tom McGrath as Americas managing partner. McGrath has completed his first term after taking on the role in 2021.
A Wachtell lifer, Gordon has advised on multibillion-dollar transactions including acting for outdoor building products maker AZEK on its $8.75bn sale to Australian cement maker James Hardie Industries last year.
He has also been part of the Wachtell team advising Teck on its $69bn merger with Anglo American, while in 2020, he advised pharma company Alexion on its $39bn sale to AstraZeneca.
Linklaters’ global head of corporate Simon Branigan said of the news: ‘Mark adds significant senior firepower to our US and global M&A practice. He is an exceptional addition to our team and will enhance our ability to advise clients on their most significant boardroom matters.’
Gordon is the latest addition to Linklaters’ US partnership, coming after the hire a pair of litigation partners from Paul Weiss – sports litigators Christopher Boehning and Dan Levi.
Shortly after, litigation lawyer César Rivière, who was an associate at Paul Weiss, also joined the firm as a partner.
The firm also recently hired Johnson & Johnson’s worldwide vice president of litigation Erik Haas as a partner in its US litigation, arbitration and investigations practice.
The news follows a string of partner exits from Wachtell, with Legal 500 Hall of Fame tax partner Deborah Paul moving to Sidley just last week.
Earlier this year, a six-partner litigation team led by former firm co-chair William Savitt left for Gibson Dunn
From January this year, Wachtell made changes to its compensation model, stretching the ratio between top and bottom earners from 3:1 to 6:1, while also giving the remuneration committee greater ability to flex pay outside the confines of its traditional lockstep.
