Just one month after Arnold & Porter‘s takeover of Kaye Scholer went live, legacy Kaye Scholer’s London head has quit the firm alongside another partner and a team of associates.
Having served as managing partner of legacy Kaye Scholer for two years, Philip Perrotta will exit the firm with aviation finance partner Sidanth Rajagopal. The pair will move to K&L Gates’ City finance practice with a team of associates.
Perrotta (pictured) had headed the firm’s aviation finance and leasing practice and had joined with Rajagopal from Clyde & Co in 2014.
Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer announced their $1bn combination last November. In the London, Kaye Scholer’s ten partner office joined Arnold & Porter’s 19 partner team at Tower 42 on Old Broad Street. Arnold & Porter’s London managing partner Tim Frazer was chosen to lead the UK team.
K&L Gates London head Tony Griffiths said: ‘With the arrival of this group, we are delighted to add the experience and capabilities of one of the leading aviation finance teams, representing the ideal fit for our existing global practice,’ he added.
For K&L Gates, the expansion follows the hires of London finance partners Barry Cosgrave from Shearman & Sterling and Mayank Gupta from Mayer Brown last year.
According to last year’s Global London, K&L Gates was the 14th biggest foreign firm in the City in 2015 by fee earner headcount. Partner headcount was flat for K&L Gates in 2015, with 129 fee earners and 48 partners.
georgiana.tudor@legalease.co.uk