Cravath Private Equity Leader Jumps to Sidley in New York (1)

Cravath Swaine & Moore’s co-head of private equity is heading to Sidley Austin, which has been building a roster of top deals lawyers.

David Perkins leaves Cravath after spending nearly two decades at the Wall Street firm representing clients such as American Securities and ECN Capital. He advised federal contractor Amentum on its 2023 merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses to create a public company with $13 billion in revenue.

“When I look at what Sidley has been able to accomplish and the strength across all the necessary industries and capabilities, it really is a sight to be seen,” Perkins said in an interview. “They’re not complacent, they’re still very much building.”

Sidley has been working to grow its roster of high-profile private equity and M&A talent. David Grubman, the head of Jones Day’s M&A group, joined the firm as co-leader of Sidley’s M&A team. The firm also picked up Adam Cromie from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and George Hunter from Jones Day.

Other additions for Sidley have included Weil Gosthal & Manges partner Amy Rubin as co-head of its employee benefits and executive compensation group and Milbank private equity and M&A partner Andrew Fadale.

Sidley worked on 53 deals as principal worth $37.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, taking 17th position on the Bloomberg Law M&A League Tables, eight spots behind Cravath.

Cravath is a Wall Street stalwart known for its top corporate and litigation practices and historically was immune from partner departures. That changed in recent years as the firm’s lawyers headed for rivals as competition for top rainmakers among the nation’s top legal operations has increased.

Perkins has been able to a build a practice with top clients and Sidley can now “turbo-charge” that, said Brian Fahrney, chair-elect of the firm’s executive committee and former head of its M&A and private equity group.

Sidley is focused on building out its private equity and M&A practices in London and New York, said Fahrney, who was a principal architect of the firm’s private equity build that began more than 15 years ago. Sidley’s clients include Apollo, Arsenal Capital Partners, Clearlake Capital, Stonepeak, Stone Point Capital, Towerbrook, and WCAS.

Perkins works on all aspects of private equity investments across multiple asset classes, including M&A, investment funds, joint ventures, minority and other structured investments, restructurings and large-scale real estate acquisitions and dispositions. He led Brookfield Renewable Partners on its $8 billion acquisition of Westinghouse.

“Bringing in Dave helps us to continue to accelerate our growth in the PE market, particularly with premier middle market clients,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Sidley’s management committee chair, in a statement.

Perkins said his practice is more diverse than other traditional private equity lawyers as he often works with investment and asset management that intersects with insurance in the private capital space, a particular strength of Sidley’s platform.

Kristin Mueller and Sabina Lippman of global legal recruiting firm CenterPeak brokered Perkins’s move to Sidley.