Kirkland & Ellis Loses 3 Chicago Partners to Latham & Watkins
Three Chicago real estate partners from Kirkland & Ellis left Tuesday to join Latham & Watkins’ Chicago office.
Robert Buday, Nathaniel Marrs and Gary Axelrod represented clients in complicated real estate dealings, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The paper notes that established partners rarely opt to leave Kirkland because it is one of the most profitable law firms in the U.S. In 2009, profits per partner at Kirkland & Ellis were $2.49 million while they were $1.9 million at Latham & Watkins, according to the Tribune, which cited American Lawyer data.
“It’s an opportune time in the business cycle to focus on real estate,” Richard Levy, the head of the firm’s Chicago office, told the Tribune. “It’s been depressed for so long, but now there’s a fair amount of liquidity and pricing is good.”
Also see:
Latham & Watkins: “Leading Group of Real Estate Private Equity Partners Joins Latham & Watkins in Chicago”
