Kirkland & Ellis has made a major addition to its London office with the hire of partner Alvaro Membrillera from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, according to two people with knowledge of the move.
Membrillera, who led the London base for Paul Weiss, is a corporate lawyer who joined the firm in 2017 from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. He was Paul Weiss’ first UK partner hire after it launched its London office in 2001.
“Alvaro is one of Europe’s top private equity lawyers with substantial experience leading complex cross-border transactions for sophisticated financial sponsors,” said Jon A. Ballis, chairman of Kirkland’s executive committee.
“We’re very pleased that the Kirkland platform continues to attract leading talent like Alvaro, particularly in Europe, which is one of our fastest growing markets.”
His exit follows that of Paul Weiss London deputy head Ramy Wahbeh, who in May left the firm for rival Sidley Austin with fellow corporate lawyer Kaisa Kuusk.
Membrillera’s departure leaves Paul Weiss with just three partners in London, based on the firm’s website.
Paul Weiss did not respond to requests for comment.
This article has been updated with comment from Kirkland.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rose Walker in London at rwalker1@bloombergindustry.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Opfer at copfer@bloombergindustry.com; Alessandra Rafferty at arafferty@bloombergindustry.com
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