Kirkland Adds Second Paul Weiss M&A Partner in as Many Years

Kirkland & Ellis has hired Rachael Coffey, a former New York M&A partner at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, marking the second time in as many years the country’s largest law firm by revenue has added a recently minted partner from the prestigious Wall Street firm.

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.

“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,” Jon Ballis, Kirkland’s chairman, said in a statement.

The hire comes as Big Law transactional practices are churning at a record pace, fueling intense competition for lawyers with deal experience. Deal activity in the first half of the year hit $2.5 trillion, more than double the $1.2 trillion announced in the first half of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Kirkland and Paul Weiss were both among the 10 busiest firms by deal value, representing clients on deals worth $202 billion and $197 billion, respectively. The firms’ transactional practices have helped them solidify their places among the wealthiest Big Law partnerships. Kirkland’s share partners earned on average $6.2 million last year while Paul Weiss’ equity partners earned $5.4 million, according to the latest AmLaw data.

Kirkland, once an upstart M&A shop with Chicago roots, built a reputation in New York as a transactional powerhouse by hiring relatively junior partners from elite Wall Street firms. Those hires included partners such as Sarkis Jebejian, Eric Schiele, and Jonathan Davis from Cravath, Swaine & Moore. The firm last year hired Edward Lee from top M&A firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.

Partners move both ways between Paul Weiss and Kirkland. Paul Weiss recently hired a pair of former Kirkland partners to build out its newest office in Northern California, bringing on Jeremy Veit and Austin Pollet. And Paul Weiss has made splashy hires of its own, including bringing on leading M&A partner Scott Barshay from Cravath.

Coffey made partner at Paul Weiss in 2019 and reportedly co-led a team representing Inspire Brands Inc. in its acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. in an $11 billion deal. Paul Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her departure.

“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,” Coffey said in a statement.