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.