US giant Kirkland & Ellis has lost private equity duo David Arnold and Gavin Gordon (pictured) to Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Long-rumoured to be on their way out of the City office, the pair joined Kirkland from Ashurst in 2010 in one of the firm’s first major private equity lateral hires in London. Clients Gordon has worked with include Cinven, ABRY Partners, KKR and Vista, while Arnold’s list include CapVest Partners and Montagu Private Equity (see Deal View).
Watson Farley & Williams head of litigation and arbitration Andrew Savage has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner in the dispute resolution team in London as the firm looks to bolster its international arbitration practice. Savage spent 15 years at Watson Farley, becoming head of litigation in 2007.
In Paris, Paul Hastings has hired tax partner Bruno Leroy from Dechert where he advised on M&A and private equity tax structuring in the capital, as well as acting for French international companies on initial public offerings.
Allen & Overy (A&O) also made a European move, appointing Michal Matera to the firm’s real estate group in Warsaw. Matera decamps from White & Case, where he was partner, with his move forming part of A&O’s strategy to strengthen its real estate practice in Poland.
Across the border in Germany, Baker McKenzie has hired Silke Gantzckow as partner in Frankfurt from DLA Piper, where she had been a partner since 2010. She brings a team with her and a focus on cross-border and domestic transactions for industrial companies.
Ashurst has strengthened its Middle East oil and gas team with the hire of Luke Robottom from White & Case, bringing to an end his ten-year stint with the US firm, where he advised on the development and financing of major infrastructure projects. Joining Robottom will be Ashurst energy and resources partner Stuart James, who relocates to Abu Dhabi.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, DLA Piper appointed Baker McKenzie corporate partner Will Seivewright as a partner and head of the firm’s corporate practice in the region. Seivewright’s practice focus is public and private M&A, joint ventures and corporate restructurings.
In Asia, Morrison & Foerster hired Lucy (Qiong) Lu to the firm’s corporate practice in Beijing. Lu had previously been a partner in Dechert’s Beijing office, where she focused on Hong Kong and US capital markets transactions.