Jonathan Levine, partner with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer has hired Jonathan Levine, a bankruptcy and restructuring partner in New York who previously was with Morrison & Foerster.

Levine's clients include private funds, asset managers, investors, creditors and debtors in distressed situations and restructurings. Levine's clients operate in such industries and sectors as energy, mining technology and telecommunications.

“Jon is an accomplished lawyer with deep experience in the bankruptcy and restructuring space,” practice chair Michael Bernstein said in a statement. “His addition will add further dimension to our practice in New York and firmwide.”

Prior to his move, Levine said he knew several partners at Arnold & Porter, having sat across the table from them in restructurings. When he saw an opportunity to jump in and help expand the practice, it was too good to pass up, he said, particularly given the heavy volume of restructuring work that many observers expect to unfold this year.

“A lot of law firms are gearing up for intensive restructuring activity in the next six to 12 months. We've all been waiting for large debt maturities for various corporate entities to come to culmination in 2019 and 2020. We expect a flurry of activity, and we'll see how long it lasts,” Levine said.

Levine, who joined Morrison & Foerster in 2016, was also attracted by Arnold & Porter's geographical footprint, with offices in locales as diverse as Brussels, Frankfurt, Silicon Valley, London and Shanghai.

“The restructuring communities internationally are developing, and we're seeing more work here in the U.S. as funds invest in different jurisdictions, so the global network is a major plus,” Levine said.

Levine's hiring comes just weeks after Arnold & Porter snared James Lee, the former managing partner of White & Case's Seoul office, who joined his new firm as a partner in Los Angeles in December.

In recent days, Arnold & Porter lost a star litigator, Lisa Blatt, who rejoined her former firm, Williams & Connolly.

In response to a request for comment on Levine's departure, a Morrison & Foerster spokesperson said, “The firm wishes Jonathan well.”