The New York office of leading US firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has hired three leading bankruptcy lawyers from rival New York firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan – and is planning more lateral hires for its bankruptcy teams in Los Angeles and Dallas.
The three bankruptcy heavyweights are Daniel Golden, Fred Hodara and Lisa Beckerman, who are considered to be at the top end of their field.
The firm is also planning to hire more associates to complement the planned increase in partner numbers. After the hiring has finished, there will be 25 lawyers in the firm's bankruptcy team.
Rey Stroube, the chairman of Akin Gump's bankruptcy practice in Houston, said: "There has been an uptake in the number of bankruptcies and these three new partners are extremely beneficial to us.
"They saw in Akin Gump a greater opportunity, as it is an international firm."
Russia's economic problems are a major factor in the increase of bankruptcy and debt restructuring work for the firm.
High-yield debts developed by adventurous investment companies have led to an increase in the number of bankruptcies.
The London office, now headed by the former Moscow managing partner Michael Waller, will also lend support to the bankruptcy work done in Europe and Russia.
Another contributing factor is the downturn in oil and gas prices, only recently abated, which has led to debt problems in the oil service sector.
Stroock & Stroock's New York bankruptcy practice has five partners and is not expected to collapse. The firm is understood to be already recruiting to replace the gap in its partnership.