Affectionately known in buyout circles as ‘GavDav’, the long-time duo of private equity specialists Gavin Gordon and David Arnold has finally landed at Willkie Farr & Gallagher from Kirkland & Ellis after months of speculation.
While Kirkland may play down its significance, it is nevertheless a rare and high-profile exit for the Chicago-bred juggernaut and a chance for Willkie – a firm whose progress in the City has been muted compared with many US peers given the quality of its US private equity practice – to finally get its brand on the radar in London.
The move will galvanise a bench that has as its driving force the much-sought after deal star Claire McDaid, who herself came over from Kirkland in 2014 along with Matthew Dean to spearhead a City private equity practice for the New York institution. It also serves to reinforce the team following the recent departure of Dean for personal reasons.
The path from Kirkland to Willkie is well trodden by high-calibre lawyers, with well-regarded restructuring partner Graham Lane making the move in 2013 and McDaid’s former Kirkland colleague, tax partner Jane Scobie, joining in April this year via Dechert. McDaid has been largely responsible for creating one of the most impressive new-builds in the City in recent years, with the team handling an active book of 150 sponsor clients, including repeat customers Freshstream, Davidson Kempner Capital Management and PAI Partners.
Meanwhile, Gordon and Arnold, who had also been in talks with Ropes & Gray and Goodwin Procter, speak fondly of their former shop but are sanguine about the growth prospects ahead of them. Says Arnold: ‘We came for the opportunity. Kirkland is a great firm – a well-established huge beast. It hums along like a well-oiled machine. Willkie is so strong in the mid-market and upper mid-market, and with the expansion plans overseen by Claire, this is a great opportunity to be part of an exciting time.’
‘Kirkland hums along like a well-oiled machine. Willkie is so strong in the mid-market and upper mid-market, and this is a great opportunity.’
David Arnold, Willkie
Gordon points to a lengthy deal roster that includes acting for ABRY Partners on its preferred equity investment in Sermo, a global social network for doctors; KKR on its takeover offer for Telepizza Group; and Pamplona Capital Management on the sale of Partner in Pet Food to Cinven.
‘Eighty percent of what I do is private equity and 20% is special situations for fund clients,’ says Gordon. McDaid says it is a good match: ‘Restructuring is a growing space and the client base is very comfortable with the work we do. It fits well with the bankruptcy and restructuring team in New York, which is very strong.’
Arnold’s deal highlights include acting for CapVest Partners and Valeo Foods Group on Valeo’s acquisition of Tangerine Confectionery from Blackstone; Law Business Research, a portfolio company of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, on its acquisition of Globe Business Media Group; and Actera Group and Esas Holding on the sale of shipping operator U.N. Ro-Ro to DFDS for around €950m.
Lawyer Talent Network – the recruitment agency recently co-founded by industry veteran Maurice Allen, the former co-head of Ropes in London, and former Matheson London head Leanne Clark – is advising Willkie on its hiring strategy. Peter Burrell, the disputes partner who joined Willkie in 2012 from Herbert Smith Freehills to build out a City office first established in 1988, sees significant scope for growth in headcount and in revenue. London, which now houses 22 partners and 52 other fee-earners, was responsible for generating £42m – equal to 7% of firm-wide revenue – in 2018, a very impressive result for a team of that size.
UK fortunes will not be hurt either by a confident run in Willkie’s home market, with firm-wide revenues announced in 2018 showing 45% growth over the previous five-year period, to hit $772m – decent for a firm with less than 650 lawyers. Average partner profits stood just short of $3m.
‘We hired Simon Osborn-King to the enforcement and compliance team from Slaughter and May in March 2018 and are looking to hire more people across the transactional piece. We have recently taken a third floor of the Citypoint building and there is capacity for 30 partners and 100 fee-earners,’ says Burrell, describing the strategy as ‘cautious expansion’ rather than a hiring spree. The firm is emulating the same approach across its European offices as well.
Willkie’s increased maturity in London is also borne out by six internal promotions in the last five years, of which three were in the latest round, which took effect in January: Philip Coletto was made up in corporate, Iben Madsen in restructuring and Aymen Mahmoud in corporate.
McDaid concludes: ‘The last five years have been about proving the thesis. We know we can scale it out because we know it works. Starting from scratch – albeit with the benefit of Paris, Frankfurt and New York – drives the entrepreneurial behaviour. No one has been sitting around for a long time telling us how things should be done. We are doing it for ourselves and that leads to a brilliant culture.’
Burrell agrees: ‘There is an entrepreneurial spirit, and there is confidence and pride in London. This is a firm moving forward.’