Kirkland & Ellis has hired Rachael Coffey, a former New York M&A partner at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison – the second time the firm has taken a new partner from Paul Weiss. Kirkland & Ellis are the largest firm in revenue terms.
The announcement of Coffey’s move Monday comes almost two years to the day after Kirkland hired David Klein from Paul Weiss’ New York M&A practice. Both firms’ New York transactional practices compete for the biggest M&A representations and have deep ties to the lucrative private equity industry.
The full press release is below –
Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced today that Rachael Coffey has joined the Firm as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in New York.
“Rachael is a rising star in M&A, and her talents will be an asset to our top-tier strategic M&A and private equity platform,” said Jon A. Ballis, Chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee. “Her broad range of transactional experience will be invaluable to our clients across the Firm.”
Ms. Coffey focuses her practice on advising companies and private equity sponsors on M&A transactions, activist defense and other significant corporate matters. She also represents boards of directors and special committees in contested situations.
“Rachael is an outstanding lawyer — a pragmatic, creative, business-oriented professional that gets deals done for her clients. She’s one of the leading young M&A attorneys, and we are excited for her to join our team in New York,” said Eric Schiele, a corporate partner and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.
Ms. Coffey was recognized in 2021 as a Law360 “Rising Star” and one of The Deal’s “Top Women in Dealmaking.” The Deal also named her a “Rising Star” among M&A lawyers in 2020. The Legal 500 U.S. has recognized her work in Corporate/M&A.
“What Kirkland has built in the public M&A space is very impressive. I look forward to joining Kirkland’s tremendously talented M&A team, which is known for its energy and creativity in leading high-profile and complex transactions,” said Ms. Coffey.
Ms. Coffey holds degrees from Georgetown University Law Center and Princeton University. She was previously a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York.
Kirkland’s M&A Practice Group maintains its position at the forefront of significant and cutting-edge transactions across all major industries. The group has received numerous accolades, including being named “US Cross-Border M&A Legal Advisory Firm of the Year” at the 2021 North America Mergermarket awards. Kirkland continues to attract the industry’s brightest talent. In New York, the team includes approximately 30 partners focused primarily on public company M&A, including hires in the past five years such as Jonathan Davis, David Klein, Edward Lee, Eric Schiele, and Ms. Coffey. Kirkland consistently leads the market in both number and value of deals. For the first half of 2021, Mergermarket ranked Kirkland #1 and #2 for both global and U.S. M&A (counsel to principals) by deal count and deal value respectively. Over the past three years, the Firm’s U.S. M&A attorneys have represented public companies in deals totaling approximately $685 billion.
