The raids upon Kirkland & Ellis by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison continues with the recruitment of IP partner John Patten, which follows Paul Weiss raids upon Kirklands in September and the major acquisition of law star Neel Sachdev and his ‘massive pay day’.
The Sachdev (pictured) lateral move created big news in the City and was undoubtedly a coup for Paul Weiss. It was the biggest money lateral move in London legal history and was the centrepiece for a list of key partners to leave Kirklands for Paul Weiss as they step up their aggressive growth in The City.
The acquisition of John Patten (pictured) underscores the firm’s aggressive expansion of its English law practice, a development that has not gone unnoticed by competitors.
Patten assumes his role as a full equity partner at Paul Weiss and brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at Kirkland since October 2021.
His legal career also includes significant stints at Linklaters, where he began as a trainee and rose to an associate. His expertise lies in guiding clients through complex commercial and corporate transactions with a strong focus on technology and intellectual property, complemented by his adeptness in European data privacy law compliance.
This latest hire is a critical step for Paul Weiss in its mission to forge a leading corporate practice in London, a strategic move that began with the recruitment of Sachdev, a key player in finance from Kirkland, in August.
Sachdev’s entry into Paul Weiss, alongside private equity luminary Roger Johnson, another Kirkland alumnus, marked the beginning of a new era for the firm’s London office.
This team, which also includes former Linklaters partner Will Aitken-Davies and ex-Kirkland partner Andreas Philipson, is rapidly shaping a robust M&A portfolio.
Paul Weiss’s London strategy appears to be well on its way to fruition, with the aim of offering comprehensive services in all private equity domains. The firm’s latest addition only serves to reinforce this trajectory as the firm moves its HQ in London into Soho and into the building housing ‘X’/Twitter.
Interestingly, the tables were turned for Paul Weiss in New York where a quartet of private equity lawyers from the firm joined law firm Sidley Austin. The move helped Sidley expand its practice and broaden existing client ties and was a loss for Paul Weiss’s New York firm.
