Photo: Diego Radzinschi/ALM

Kirkland & Ellis has turned to rival Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for the latest addition to its M&A and private equity practices, extending a busy spring and summer for lateral activity at both firms.

David Klein joined Kirkland as a partner in New York, the firm said Wednesday. He made partner at Paul Weiss in 2016, five years after joining from Schulte Roth & Zabel.

Klein has represented Qualcomm, EXOR, ILG, HP Inc., ADP and others in takeovers, takeover defense, acquisitions and proxy contests. He declined to name additional clients but said he did expect some of his existing relationships to continue as he made the move to Kirkland.

“David is a rising star in the M&A world and will be an invaluable addition to our elite M&A and private equity practice in New York,” said Jeffrey Hammes, chair of Kirkland's global management executive committee. “His significant experience advising on public and private company transactions, joint ventures, activist defense and other significant corporate matters will be a huge benefit to our clients in New York and across the firm.”

David Klein of Kirkland & Ellis

“I'm really excited about the practice of the Kirkland platform and the opportunities that come from that,” Klein said. While the types of matters he'll specialize in—public and private company deals and activism defense, among others—won't change, Klein said that he is excited to work with Kirkland's M&A team, which he has built a relationship with over multiple years, to expand his practice.

“What I really love about this opportunity is the ability to grow my practice and help expand upon it at an earlier stage in my career,” he said. “That, to me, was a really exciting piece of this opportunity.”

Klein's addition to the firm comes at a time when Kirkland continues to expand its M&A and private equity market share. It was one of the top five M&A legal advisers by deal value in the first half of the year and the top firm by deal volume, according to Refinitiv.

Klein said Kirkland's commitment to developing a competitive M&A practice made him all the more eager to join the firm. On top of the megadeals announced in the first half of the year, he said that for the past few years, Q4 has seen an uptick in activity—something he hopes to see again this year.

“Kirkland has made a real push to build out their M&A platform, especially on the public side, and my hire fits well into that narrative,” he said. “For me, this is a really exciting new step in my career.”

Klein's move comes less than three weeks after Paul Weiss picked up private equity partner Sarah Stasny from Kirkland—the latest in a string of notable partner hires for the firm this year. There have been departures too, however: Earlier this year Paul Weiss corporate partner Justin Hamill and counsel David Beller decamped for Latham & Watkins.

A Paul Weiss representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.