Kirkland & Ellis has boosted its Asia funds team with the addition of two new partners in Hong Kong.

Damian Jacobs and Jonathan Tadd will work alongside Justin Dolling and Carol Liu, bringing the number of partners in the group to four and making it one of the larger private equity funds teams in the city. 

Jacobs is currently an associate in the Hong Kong office, advising international and regional institutions in connection with private fund investments.

Tadd is based in London and works for international and pan-European private fund managers, but will relocate to Hong Kong in November.

The promotions come less than a year after the last formal global promotions round, which included three Hong Kong corporate lawyers, Henry Cheng, Benjamin James and Stephanie Lau.

The Chicago-based firm launched its Asia private equity funds team back in 2008, with the transfer of Dolling from London and Albert Cho from New York.

This year saw the relocation of three Hong Kong partners to London, which included funds specialist Christopher Braunack, as well as the departure of Cho to Weil Gothshal's Hong Kong office.

In an interview with Legal Week last month, senior partner Nick Norris made clear that Kirkland continues to build its Asian practice broadly, despite some moves around the network.

It has recently introduced a restructuring team with the hire of Hogan Lovells' head of insolvency for the region, Neil McDonald, and another partner from the UK firm Damien Coles.

It is also understood to be considering commercial litigation capability.

Other firms active in the private equity funds space in Hong Kong include Ropes & Gray, Debevoise & Plimpton, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin.

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