Nine Kirkland & Ellis lawyers have taken in-house private equity positions during the first quarter of 2021, with most leaving for legal chief roles. Kirkland corporate partner Nadia Karkar left the firm’s San Francisco office last month to join TPG Global LLC as a general counsel based in the same city. Elizabeth Freechack, a New York-based mergers and acquisitions and private equity partner, joined private equity firm L Catterton as a deputy general counsel, also in March.
Among other notable exits, Andrew Fleischman, a New York-based corporate partner, jumped to FTV Management Co. LP in February as general counsel. Joshua Merrill, a newly promoted private equity and M&A partner in Dallas, also left that month to become legal chief at Echo Investment Capital.
Large firms like Kirkland, while eager to hang on to talent, also stand to benefit if lawyers leave their ranks for in-house positions at coveted clients. Once those recruits are in their new posts, they may be well-placed to direct legal work to their former employers.
Read more/Source: Bloomberg Law
