Sidley Austin is building momentum as it grows its private equity practice, adding to a partner pair it brought on last month with another partner and several other lawyers.

The group was led by longtime partner Mehdi Khodadad, who chaired Cooley's private equity practice, and joined Sidley Austin in April along with partner Joshua DuClos.

Now joining Khodadad and DuClos in the Century City office is partner Eric Kauffman, as well as two associates. More associates are expected to follow. In addition to the Los Angeles laterals, the firm has also brought on Washington, D.C.-based counsel Stacy Crosnicker, who had been an associate at Cooley.

“I have every confidence Sidley will continue to be disruptive—not just in Southern California—but that it will be one of the top destination firms globally for private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies,” Khodadad said.

Dan Clivner, co-leader of Sidley's M&A and private equity practice, said the firm has been strategically focused on bringing in private equity talent across the globe. Clivner, who is also the managing partner of Sidley's Los Angeles offices, joined the firm in 2015 from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. He has gone on several hiring sprees in the L.A. market and in New York to help the Chicago-based firm grow its private equity practice.

“We are keenly focused on growing private equity in California and serving West Coast flagship sponsors,” Clivner said.

Kauffman concentrates his practice on labor and employment matters and works with private equity and venture capital sponsors on such matters as M&A, financings, spinoffs, and divestitures. Crosnicker, in Washington, D.C., advises private equity clients and their portfolio companies on issues related to employee benefits that arise during mergers and acquisitions.

Khodadad had practiced at Cooley for nearly 15 years. One of his long-standing clients is Clearlake Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Santa Monica, California. Khodadad and his team have advised Clearlake and its affiliates on numerous transactions over the years, including its recent acquisition of mobile testing platform Perfecto Mobile and Meek's Lumber Co., and the purchase of symplr from Pamlico Capital and The CapStreet Group.

“Today, you can't ignore the importance of LA-based sponsors that once were ignored by the major Wall Street firms,” Clivner said.

He added, over the last several decades, private equity sponsors have grown significantly in Southern California, making Los Angeles one of the most important cities for private equity investments outside of New York.

Both Khodadad and DuClos represent technology and life sciences companies and their venture capital and private equity sponsors on matters such as private and public financings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, leveraged buyouts and cross-border transactions.

In an email, Khodadad said his team has “already been impactful in augmenting Sidley's private equity bench and capabilities” in the regional market. He said his group has had a strong start in its first four weeks at the firm, handling over half a dozen private equity transactions, including three tech transactions of more than $1 billion, during that time.

“We expect this trend to continue as we continue to expand existing and prospective private equity sponsor relationships and execute on selective additions to our team in the California market,” Khodadad said.

Khodadad and his team's arrival to Sidley's M&A and private equity group follows several other notable hires, which included Milbank's former LA managing partner, Kenneth Baronsky; a pair of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld partners, Adam Weinstein and Tony Feuerstein; and former Davis Polk & Wardwell dealmaker John Butler in New York.

Sidley said the firm now has a total of 57 attorneys in its Century City office.

Cooley did not respond to a request for comment on the most recent departures.

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Cooley Private Equity Team Heading to Sidley