Tax lawyer R. David Wheat has left KPMG's tax group in Washington, D.C., to join Kirkland & Ellis as a partner in Houston.

Wheat, who will start at Kirkland on May 31, works on corporate tax and financing transactions, particularly in the energy sector. He also advises clients on partnerships, limited liability companies and Sub C and Sub K entities, and the tax aspects of M&A, turnarounds and workouts, and tax controversies.

He said that Kirkland tax partner Todd Maynes approached him about joining the firm in Houston, and he decided he could not pass up the opportunity. He said he has worked with a number of lawyers in the firm's tax department over the years.

“Kirkland is an incredible firm. I was excited about their story. They are growing in Texas, the heart of the energy industry, which has always been one of my main areas of focus,” Wheat said. “This is an opportunity to get back to what I'm really trained to do and help out on the legal side from a tax standpoint.”

Wheat said his clients include National Gas Partners, a private equity fund in Irving. He has done a lot of work over the years in the energy space for oil and gas companies and for private equity companies, he said.

Kirkland partner Andrew Calder, a member of the firm's global management executive committee who is based in Houston, said lawyers in the Houston office have worked with Wheat on transactions over the last few years.

“His comprehensive knowledge of tax law relative to energy transactions will be a great asset to clients, and his skill in mentoring and developing other lawyers will elevate the entire team,” Calder said in a statement.

Wheat practiced at Thompson & Knight for 27 years before joining KPMG in Washington. He said while at KPMG he continued to live in Dallas and will keep an apartment in Houston once he starts work at Kirkland.