An ‘absolute powerhouse’ in the London market, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP continues to be leading name for sponsor-backed transactions, with a strong track record in take-privates and buyouts. David Higgins, who helms the group, has recently advised on a number of multi-billion dollar deals, including acquisitions and disposals. Fellow team head Stuart Boyd is praised as an 'exceptional dealmaker’ and is the key relationship lead to some of the firm’s most consequential financial sponsor clients. Matthew Elliott is a go-to in the practice for private equity-backed real estate deals, while Adrian Maguire is active on both public and private M&A, as well as disposals. Alvaro Membrillera joined from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in September 2023, and has subsequently advised on substantial deals in the telecoms and healthcare space. Roger Johnson, Niklas Ahlklo and Andreas Philipson all joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in 2023.
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Accolades
Client satisfaction
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The Kirkland corporate team is an absolute powerhouse. It's staffed with super smart and extremely experienced lawyers who get deals done. They are creative problem solvers who not only identify deal problems, but they propose a range of well thought out solutions, and steer the client to the appropriate way forward.’
‘Stuart Boyd is an exceptional deal maker. He brings gravitas and experience to the negotiating table alongside his technical excellence.'
‘We have a deep and trusting relationship with the Kirkland team who lead on vast majority of our legal work. They have an exceptionally strong team, high degree of technical skillset and professionalism, ability to navigate through wide range of complex situations, and the responsiveness and communication is first class. We continue to be impressed by their quality of work and commitment to deliver in any circumstances.'
- 'Matthew Elliott has advised us on a large number of complex situations.'
‘Matthew Elliott is our long term partner and go-to lawyer on increasing number of deals over the years. He is sharp, focused, and will deliver best service every single time. We're extremely grateful for all of his help over the years.’
Key clients
- Advent International
- Antin Infrastructure Partners
- Apax
- Bain Capital Private Equity
- BC Partners
- Blackstone
- Brookfield
- Cinven
- EQT
- GIC
Work highlights
- Advising KKR on its €22 billion acquisition of Telecom Italia’s fixed access network.
- Advised Apollo on its recommended all-cash acquisition of the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of The Restaurant Group plc.
- Advising Data4 and AXA IM - Real Assets on the c. €3.5 billion sale of Data4 to Brookfield Asset Management.
Lawyers
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Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
David Higgins; Matthew Elliott
Other key lawyers
Stuart Boyd; Adrian Maguire; Alvaro Membrillera