Sullivan & Cromwell hires a group of lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis as it builds a US private equity practice, according to reporting. The move brings in partners from Kirkland & Ellis and signals a strategic expansion by the long-established US firm into a market where buyout clients and deal activity are central.
The development fits into broader trends across the legal industry. Financial Times coverage says Sullivan & Cromwell had largely avoided representing buyout groups, even as the private equity boom drives rapid growth at some rival firms. By contrast, Kirkland & Ellis has a more established position serving private equity clients, and Sullivan & Cromwell’s hiring is framed as an effort to compete for that business. Across the two reports, the emphasis is on talent acquisition and practice-building, rather than any specific, disclosed deal or client win.
The sources broadly agree on the nature of the move—recruiting a team of Kirkland partners—while focusing on different context: one report highlights the firm’s earlier relative absence from buyout work, and the other emphasizes the discovery and establishment of a dedicated private equity capability.
