Super Rainmaker Neel Sachdev’s Big Law Effect
Neel Sachdev needs no introduction in these columns as the rainmaker whose big-money move from Kirkland & Ellis raised eyebrows to a level in the City where NASA needed to find them. It appears, he continues to make waves as Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison continues on the up-and-up in London’s tough big law scene.
Paul Weiss’ London office over the past five years has experienced significant growth, expanding its headcount and broken through the $2 billion global revenue mark, with a 10.8 percent increase in revenue over the previous year, as highlighted by its London lateral recruitment drive.
Additionally, the firm’s rapid growth in The City is exemplified by its increase to 20 partners and over 120 lawyers, as reported in a Law.com article discussing the firm’s continual expansion.
The recruitment of Neel Sachdev was audacious and saw Kirkland’s retaliate with the poaching of top Paul Weiss partner Alvaro Membrillera in the two big law firms’ high-stakes chess game.
In the aftermath of this recruitment showdown, Paul Weiss found itself at one point with only two partners in London. However that situation did not last long as under Sachdev, the firm now boasts 21 partners and over 100 lawyers, along with a list of major M&A and other transactional work to further boost its growth and turnover.
And the firm is also looking to open in Brussels and expand its European footprint.
Lateral Hires Boost Paul Weiss
Paul Weiss has stepped up its lateral hires as Neel Sachdev has taken an entrepreneurial approach and a strong leadership role to embark upon a relentless pursuit of talent, poaching top-tier partners from rival firms like Kirkland & Ellis.
The lateral hire scene in London law has been huge with The Times reporting that more than 500 commercial law partners moved between firms in 2023 with a growth in deal-making behind the intense competition for legal talent.
Recruiters described the lateral hire mania as an “internecine talent war”, predominantly between American law firms in London, largely led by the Kirkland Ellis / Paul Weiss raids.
The addition to Paul Weiss of luminaries such as Roger Johnson, Stefan Arnold-Soulby, and John Patten are notable and a slew of recent partner hires, including M&A specialist Oliver Marcuse and Dan Schuster-Woldan from Magic Circle firms Clifford Chance and Linklaters, respectively, the firm continues to aggressively build its legal lineup.
Paul Weiss Lineup
But what sets Paul Weiss apart is not just its star lineup, but its deal flow with the London office a hive of activity as it works on a range of high-profile M&A and financing transactions for prestigious clients. From advising Bain Capital on a €150 million financing loan to steering global M&A deals worth a staggering $57 billion, Paul Weiss is at the forefront of legal innovation and success.
Competitors like Kirkland & Ellis have scrambled to fill the void left by Paul Weiss’ relentless recruitment drive, sparking an unprecedented hiring frenzy in the legal sphere.
The battlefield has expanded, with firms devising new strategies to retain top talent and fend off poaching attempts with the sort of big money offers that lured Neel Sachdev originally to Paul Weiss.
Paul Weiss remains undeterred. Their 2023 revenue of $2 billion and profits per equity partner of $6.5 million speak volumes about their unrivaled success and financial prowess.
And they also have their new West End offices, London’s Twitter headquarters and a symbol of Paul Weiss’ firm’s commitment to growth and innovation, nestled in the heart of London’s bustling Soho.
The remarkable growth of Paul Weiss in London lead by its expensive team of top lawyers exemplifies the intense competition not only for top deals, but also top talent that will secure those deals for the major legal players in London. And Neel Sachdev continues to lead the charge.
