Kirkland & Ellis hires second Allen & Overy finance partner in London

“Vanessa is one of the leading debt financing partners in the market,” said Stephen Lucas, member of Kirkland's executive committee and finance partner. “Vanessa’s experience will further strengthen our outstanding debt financing practice and we are excited to welcome her to the team.”

She is the second A&O London finance partner to jump to Kirkland in London this year, following high-yield finance partner Marwa Elboray, who joined a major US law firm in March.

read Kirkland & Ellis hires Allen & Overy London financial partner

The departure comes ahead of A&O's major merger with New York law firm Shearman & Sterling, which is expected to go live in May.

Mr. Elboray joined A&O from Sherman in 2022 before the two companies signed a deal, but transferred to Kirkland before the merger took effect.

Kirkland is rebuilding in London after losing its team last summer to Paul Weiss, led by debt finance mogul Neil Sachdev and M&A partner Roger Johnson.

In October, the firm poached two of Simpson Thatcher's top financial partners in London, Ian Barratt and Sinead O'Shea.

Last month, the company strengthened its ESG offering by hiring Rebecca Perlman, who was head of ESG for EMEA at Herbert Smith Freehills.

readKirkland & Ellis hires ESG specialist from HSF in London

In February, the firm strengthened its London funds team by hiring former MacFarlanes partner Alex Amos. The firm hired Seinwen Rees, a tax partner specializing in investment funds, from MacFarlanes in November last year.

Kirkland recorded more than $7 billion in revenue in 2022, with average profits per equity partner of nearly $8 million.

Law.com We were the first to report Mr. Xu's hiring.

To contact the author of this article with feedback or news, email Edin Imsirovic