Despite a recent overhaul of its partnership to reward top performers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has lost private equity heavyweight David Higgins to Kirkland & Ellis in one of the most expensive lateral hires ever in the City.
Higgins is set to join the US law firm as London co-managing partner in a deal worth around $10m a year, in one of the most significant UK departures ever from an elite London law firm. He will sit alongside finance playmaker Stephen Lucas on Kirkland’s core executive committee as its second London-based member.
