The latest in a series of departures from Kirkland & Ellis in London has seen partner Philipp Kurek join City boutique firm Signature Litigation after 14 years at the Chicago-bred disruptor. Kurek specialises in international arbitration and represents clients in various sectors, including technology, real estate, and private equity.
The move followed on from the news earlier this month that Kirkland debt finance partner Stefan Arnold-Soulby was leaving to be reunited with his colleague Neel Sachdev at Paul Weiss. Arnold-Soulby is known for his experience in handling complex financings and representing financial sponsors, with key clients that include Bain Capital Private Equity and Accel-KKR.
This is a continuation of an aggressive hiring spree by Sachdev, who in August took a team to Paul Weiss in a bold move that established an English law practice.
Then earlier this month, Kirkland deal star Roger Johnson finally landed at Paul Weiss, putting an end to weeks of speculation, along with three other Kirkland partners and a partner from Linklaters.
For his part, Kurek commented on his move to Legal Business: ‘I got to the point where I was looking for the next step up. Signature Litigation presented a very compelling reason to move, and it has an excellent reputation for litigation. The firm has a really entrepreneurial, young and energetic team that is hungry to grow the arbitration practice. I wanted to be part of that journey.’
Also expanding its arbitration team, Allen & Overy (A&O) has enlisted disputes partner Daniel Garton to its London practice. The move comes as A&O prepares to kick off the partnership vote on 28 September that would, if it goes through, give the green light to its proposed merger with Shearman & Sterling.
Garton brings extensive experience from his nearly 17-year tenure at White & Case, where he worked on projects in the energy, oil and gas, petrochemical, transport and mining sectors. He is dual-qualified in England and Wales, and Queensland, Australia.
Continuing the contentious theme, Stewarts Law has hired dispute resolution partner Sherina Petit from Norton Rose Fulbright, where she headed up the firm’s India practice. Leaving behind NRF after almost 15 years, she will head the international arbitration practice at her new firm.
Meanwhile, Quinn Emanuel has brought in international arbitration and litigation partner Melis Acuner from rival Cadwalader. Her client portfolio includes prominent energy, steel, telecoms, media, and construction companies. Notably, she was part of the team that secured a $1.98bn victory while representing Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas in an LCIA claim against Kurdistan.
Last in the string of arbitration-related moves, Mark Whelan, a former partner at Rosenblatt, has joined Mishcon de Reya’s London dispute resolution team. With consistent recognition in Commercial Litigation by The Legal 500, Whelan’s expertise lies in handling substantial multi-jurisdictional disputes for clients, including brokers, banks and hedge funds.
Elsewhere in the City, Gibson Dunn has appointed Kavita Davis as a partner in its global finance group. Previously at Simpson Thacher, she is known for her experience in cross-border debt finance and advice to sponsors in leveraged buyouts, with a specific focus on infrastructure transactions.
On her decision to move to Gibson Dunn, she said: ‘It was an incredible opportunity to be part of the build-out phase of the firm’s infrastructure private equity practice in Europe and the Middle East. The firm is expanding in these regions and so it’s an exciting time to be joining.’
Discussing what she predicts will keep her busy over the next coming months, she added: ‘Quite a few sale and auction processes in the infrastructure space are expected to be launched in Q4 of this year and Q1 of next, and so we expect to be busy with the financing workstreams associated with those.’
RPC has expanded its general liability practice in London with the appointment of partner Thom Lumley, who brings his expertise in dispute resolution, crisis management, and the anticipation and reduction of emerging risks. Lumley previously served as a partner at Plexus Law and Kennedys.
On his move, he said: ‘It was a carefully measured decision as a lawyer, but it was about the people and cultural fit. I’ve been fortunate to meet a number of partners and associates over the years and everyone was always so positive. In terms of my work, it was important to join a multidisciplinary firm. It has incredible offers on all different lines of insurance, not just my area, which opens up amazing synergies for client networking and development.’
Across the Atlantic, Clifford Chance has expanded its global tech group by bringing in three partners from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in the US. Vipul Nishawala will be located in the firm’s New York office, while Meighan O’Reardon, labelled as a leading lawyer by The Legal 500, and James McPhillips will join CC’s Washington office.
Speaking with Legal Business, Houston office managing partner and co-head of the firm’s tech group Devika Kornbacher commented on the new hires: ‘It’s a sign of scaling up the US practice and adding depth to our bench, as well as expertise for the speed of our clients’ development. Tech development is part of our US ambitions and ongoing strategy to continue to be a market leader.’
On CC’s plans to hire in the future, she continued: ‘We are open. We look for talent and we are always looking for ways we can better serve our clients, for example, if we realise in our offering that we need more expertise or somebody available starts looking. From the people we have just hired, several of them have expertise on advising on AI. James McPhillips used to run the generative AI Task Force at his previous place of employment, and we can foresee hiring to be able to keep up with the pace of that technology.’
Back in London, Lewis Silkin has strengthened its team by adding specialist patent partner Jonathan Hewett from Venner Shipley. Hewett’s expertise lies in electronics and engineering work, and he brings with him more than two decades of experience, serving clients ranging from start-ups and universities to multinational corporations.
Speaking to LB about his new firm, Hewett said: ‘Lewis Silkin offers a range of complementary services under the IP umbrella. This attracted me to the firm – the opportunity to offer a variety of support and feel closer to clients by helping them commercialise their ideas, beyond the patenting of their inventions.’
The firm has brought on board Aisling Parkinson as an employment partner in its Dublin office. However, it also experienced a departure as Clare Reddy, a long-serving partner and leader of the construction practice, joined Farrer & Co, bolstering their commercial property practice. Reddy possesses over two decades of experience advising developers, contractors, investors, and occupiers.
Finally, Squire Patton Boggs has hired Omar Momany as a partner in its corporate practice in Dubai. Momany joins the firm from Baker McKenzie, where he was acknowledged as a leading individual by The Legal 500 and served as the head of the corporate and M&A practice.
