In February, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett plucked Kirkland & Ellis partner James Watson and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Adam Gallagher to launch its European restructuring group. The practice, which launched in September, comprises two counsel and five associates working alongside the partner duo, who spent more than a decade working together at Freshfields before Watson left in 2015.

Here, they discuss reuniting amid “the eye of the storm” in restructuring, and building a new team during the pandemic.