Kirkland & Ellis Adds Willkie Partner in New York

Willkie, Farr & Gallagher insurance partner Rajab Abbassi has joined Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in its corporate practice group in New York.

Abbassi’s practice focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry and regularly advises on M&A, reinsurance transactions, joint ventures and strategic investments. He also works with boards of directors and senior management in the insurance industry on strategic and governance matters.

“I’m grateful for my time at Willkie, but Kirkland offered me a unique opportunity to build a premier insurance transactional practice on a phenomenal platform with an extremely strong brand, and I am excited by this new challenge,” Abbassi said in an email.

Abbassi, who joined Willkie in 2012 from the now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf, has advised on significant insurance industry deals over the years.

In 2017, for instance, Abbassi was a part of the Willkie team that advised Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited in its $2.6 billion sale to certain investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management and advised health insurer Aetna in its $1.45 billion agreement to sell its U.S. group life and disability business to The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

And earlier this year, he advised Protective Life Corp., a U.S. subsidiary of Japanese insurer Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc., in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co.’s individual life insurance and annuity business.

“Rajab has an outstanding reputation as one of the top young lawyers focused on insurance transactions, an increasingly important and active sector for our clients, and we are excited to add his deep experience in the area to our strong transactional platform,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, chairman of Kirkland’s global management executive committee, in a statement.

In his new role at the firm, Abbassi said he plans to continue his focus on insurance transactional matters and aims to help build Kirkland’s expertise in the space.

“Kirkland is a known leader in the private equity and M&A market and the chance to work across a unique and growing platform and enhance the business even further is very exciting,” Abbassi said.