(Photo: Monika Kozak/ALM)

Two K&L Gates private equity partners, including a co-head of the firm's practice, have moved to the New York office of Proskauer Rose. James Lee and Jae Woo Park said the firm's strong London presence was a major draw.

The duo, who had joined K&L from Goodwin Procter about three years ago, have experience working with publicly traded companies, private equity firms and investment funds on a wide variety of transactions. Lee, who co-led K&L's practice, said about 75% of their deals are cross-border, underscoring the need for a strong London office.

Lee said they first considered joining Proskauer around the time of their move to K&L and as their practices matured and clients' needs have grown, they realized that Proskauer's strengths in asset management and related practices were a good fit. They said their new firm's culture, which they called collaborative and entrepreneurial, was also a draw.

"Jae and I have very complementary skills that allow us to manage and grow a book of business," Lee said. "We're heavily involved in each other's deals."

Park was previously an M&A associate for Shearman & Sterling in Abu Dhabi, according to his LinkedIn profile, and he said he hopes to tap relationships he built in the region working with sovereign wealth funds to bring in business for Proskauer. "With Proskauer's reach, we can really dive into that market," said Lee, adding that the London office will be a critical link in their outreach.

The addition of Park and Lee comes after a 2019 that saw Proskauer break the $1 billion threshold, powered partly by 18% revenue growth from its London office. Private investment funds, private equity and private credit were all growth areas for the office, according to Steven Ellis, Proskauer's new chairman.

K&L, meanwhile, has cut head count and seen its revenue fall in recent years, though it's not clear whether the same is true of its London operation.

In a Friday interview, Daryn Grossman, Proskauer's new managing partner, said Lee and Park would grow the firm's offering in the asset management space and that the firm will need to bring on talent to service its growing business in the area. She added that the firm's shift to servicing clients amid the coronavirus pandemic has been "seamless."

"Our practices that were busy a week ago are still busy," she said. "We're very busy in private investment funds, in bankruptcy and restructuring and all of those related practices. In finance, people are refinancing. Litigation is still going very, very strong. It's too early to tell how the whole legal market will be affected."

Lee's clients are in the health care, fintech, manufacturing, technology and internet products and services industries, according to Proskauer's announcement of the hiring, while Park works with clients in similar sectors as well as in financial services and aerospace and defense.

While the coronavirus crisis has put some deals in wait-and-see mode, Park said in an interview last week that he expects the health care industry will become more active because of the pandemic.

A K&L Gates spokesman declined to comment on Lee and Park's departure.