Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton is adding a seven-year veteran from Kirkland & Ellis to its Chicago ranks as the firm grapples with a growing volume of bankruptcy work.

A number of industries and businesses Sheppard Mullin lawyers work with were showing signs of distress even before COVID-19 began ravaging the country, said Edward Tillinghast, the chair of the firm's finance and bankruptcy practice.

That work has only accelerated as the pandemic's economic effects began to sink in, he added—just in time for the arrival of Justin Bernbrock, Sheppard Mullin's newest addition and its first Chicago-based bankruptcy partner. "He's going to be very busy quickly," Tillinghast said.