Kirkland & Ellis news, updates and analysis | Page 11 of 14

Kirkland & Ellis has lost capital markets partner Andrew Hagan to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, within days of the firm losing a six-partner team to Sidley Austin.

Hagan will join the Magic Circle firm in April this year and is a boost for Freshfields which is steadily building its debt markets team. The hire comes after the recruit of high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm who quit Kirkland to co-head Freshfields European leveraged finance team in London in June 2015.

Some of Hagan’s deal highlights include advising Credit Suisse, Barclays, JP Morgan and KKR in connection with R&R Ice Cream’s offering of €150m senior secured notes due 2020; and representing CVC Capital Partners on the issuance of €550m floating rate senior secured high-yield bonds due 2021 to finance of CVC’s acquisition of ParexGroup Participations SAS.

Freshfields global finance group head David Trott said: ‘The firm is rightly regarded as a first choice for European high yield transactions and Andy’s experience and expertise will ensure that we continue to develop our market-leading leveraged finance platform and to offer clients a first-class high yield capability.’

The news comes after a six-partner team from Kirkland announced they would exit the firm to set up a City private equity team at Sidley Austin. While there has been a lateral partner revolving door between Kirkland and other rival firms, Kirkland rarely loses a sizeable team like this.

City private equity partners Christian Iwasko, Erik Dahl and Fatema Orjela alongside banking partner Bryan Robson, corporate partner Sava Savov and tax partner Oliver Currall are set to exit Kirkland to join Sidley Austin.

The team hire will improve Sidley Austin’s private equity offering which currently only cites one partner, Stephen Blackshaw, who also co-heads the corporate group, as advising on private equity transactions in London; alongside two other partners who are also based in the US.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Kirkland & Ellis continue to swap talent in the City, this time with Kirkland hiring the Magic Circle’s finance partner Michael Steele.

The hire comes one month after high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm quit the US firm to join Freshfields and become co-head of its European leveraged finance group.

Steele was Freshfields’ relationship partner for The Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs, and spent 12 months in the leveraged finance team at Goldman Sachs in 2010. His client base covers financial sponsors, funds and financial institutions, advising them on complex and cross-border financing transactions, including leveraged finance, special situations investing, loan portfolio acquisitions and restructurings.

Deal highlights include advising Blackstone on its acquisition of the €1.8bn Project Tower loan portfolio from NAMA; representing Cinven on its acquisition of Heidelberger Leben; and acting for CVC and BC Partners on their bid for BSN Medical.

He joined the Magic Circle firm in February 2008 as a senior associate and was promoted to the partnership in April 2012.

Kirkland’s chairman Jeffrey Hammes said: ‘Michael is recognized as one of the top finance lawyers in the market and has developed a strong reputation for handling complex transactions, particularly on the sponsor side. His joining the firm reflects our continued commitment to building our leading European finance platform.’

In early June, Kirkland saw the exit of a trio of funds partners, led by Mark Mifsud, to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Reversing the trend of partners departing Magic Circle firms for US rivals, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, subject to a partnership vote, is set to hire high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm from Kirkland & Ellis.

The move would be an unusual step for the acclaimed capital markets partner who has worked at Kirkland for the past four years. He joined the firm – which posted partner profits that surpassed the $3.5m mark in 2014 – in 2011 from Shearman & Sterling after 14 years, first as an associate in 1997 after which he became partner in 2005 and co-head of its corporate group in 2010.

McKimm represents both underwriters and issuers on international securities offerings with a particular focus on high-yield transactions. At Kirkland, McKimm has advised banking and sponsor clients including BNP Paribas, UBS, and in particular, CVC Capital Partners – which is also a key client of Freshfields.

The hire constitutes arguably the most impressive name a leading City firm has yet secured in high-yield bonds, an increasingly important financing line in European deal work but one that has for years remained dominated by a small band of US law firms. McKimm is established alongside Latham & Watkins’ Richard Trobman and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s Nick Shaw as one of the leading specialists in the area currently working in the City. Freshfields had in 2010 recruited Simpson Thacher counsel Gil Strauss at partner level to drive its high yield practice but Strauss departed two years later for Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

The move comes as Freshfields last year pushed through provisions to allow it to pay a small band of recruits over the top of its lockstep, primarily to back strategic recruitment in US law. The lateral hire is yet to go through a partnership vote at Freshfields, but this will be regarded as a formality.

Freshfields is ranked third tier for its high-yield capability in The Legal 500, whereas Kirkland currently sits above in the second tier with McKimm listed as a leading individual.

Kirkland saw the exit of a trio of funds partners last week, led by Mark Mifsud, to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson while on Monday (1 June) Proskauer Rose hired M&A partner James Howe. At the end of April, disputes partner Ulrich Payne departed for Ogier’s Cayman Islands office.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk