Sidley Austin Snags Private Equity Rainmakers From Akin Gump
The departing Akin Gump partners, Adam Weinstein and Tony Feuerstein, have advised on deals totaling tens of billions of dollars in value over the last five years.
October 01, 2018 at 03:06 PM
4 minute read
(Photo: Jason Doiy / ALM)
In another sign of the increasing competition for top talent in the buyout field, Sidley Austin has recruited two top private equity partners in New York from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
The departing Akin Gump partners, Adam Weinstein and Tony Feuerstein, have advised on deals totaling tens of billions of dollars in value over the last five years for clients, including significant work for Apollo Global Management.
Weinstein and Feuerstein are anticipated to move to Sidley this month. They represent large-cap and middle-market private equity funds and their portfolio companies in leveraged acquisitions, mergers, strategic investments, growth financings and other deals.
Sidley, viewing Weinstein as a strong lateral partner, bumped up his pay significantly from Akin Gump, said a source familiar with the moves, adding Weinstein's book of business has totaled more than $30 million. Sidley's average profits per equity partner last year was $2.26 million, while Akin Gump's last year was $2.39 million, according to The American Lawyer.
According to public records, Weinstein and Feuerstein are currently advising on the $5.6 billion merger between LifePoint Health and RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo.
An Akin Gump spokesman, who confirmed the pair's departure, said the firm “wishes them all the best in their future endeavors.”
Sidley already advises Apollo on various types of matters. By bringing on board Weinstein and Feuerstein, the firm is further cementing its relationship to the private equity giant and others.
“We share important clients” and Sidley is “highly confident Adam and Tony will continue to be able to represent them at Sidley,” said Dan Clivner, co-leader of Sidley's private equity practice.
Weinstein and Feuerstein were not immediately available to comment.
Clivner said the incoming partners saw in Sidley an opportunity to grow their practice and Sidley's practice in a way in which “other firms couldn't compete,” adding Sidley has “more breadth and depth” to service important clients.
For Sidley, the New York hires represent the firm's latest step in its strategy to be pre-eminent in private equity. In the last few years, Sidley has recruited top private equity partners in London and California from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, including Clivner himself in 2015; in Boston from Latham & Watkins; and in London and Munich from Kirkland & Ellis,
“This marks a major turning point. This reflects a concerted decision to invest in New York,” Clivner said of the latest hires. Clivner added that the firm is continuing to focus on “the premium middle market while serving bulge bracket sponsors when the opportunity arises.”
Kent Zimmermann, who advises Sidley and who is a law firm management consultant at the Zeughauser Group, said Sidley is one of a number of firms that have “started to disrupt the disrupters,” referring to hiring partners from Kirkland and Latham. “They're one of a few that are building a pre-eminent practice in New York and other places,” he said.
Competition is ratcheting up for top talent in the legal industry as private equity continues to be one of the most lucrative practices for law firms. Private equity firms are serial users of corporate lawyers, through a constant cycle of raising funds, acquisitions, restructuring and sales.
“The amount of private money funding M&A and other types of transactions has increased dramatically over time, and many law firms are following those trends,” Zimmermann said.
Meanwhile, the top hires often come at a steep price for law firms, who sometimes find themselves in bidding wars with others or offering multiyear guarantees for laterals. “The increasing demand among more and more firms for a limited supply of sought-after private equity lawyers is driving up their compensation,” Zimmermann said, speaking generally on lateral moves in the field.
Read More:
A Crack in the Wall: Elite Wall Street Firms Are Being Put to the Test
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