Kirkland & Ellis boosts Washington M&A practice with four hires

Kirkland & Ellis has boosted its M&A practice with the hire of former Federal Trade Commission Chairman Tim Muris, along with three other prominent antitrust lawyers. Muris, who joins Kirkland’s Washington office as of counsel, shifting from his former post at O'Melveny & Myers. He is followed by two partners from O'Melveny: his former Federal Trade Commission chief of staff, Christine Wilson, and former agency adviser Bilal Sayyed. Both will be partners in Kirkland's antitrust and competition practice group. The firm has also hired Hunton & Williams associate Ian Conner as of counsel. Conner has previous experience an antitrust attorney with the Department of Justice, and worked alongside Muris and Wilson on the Northwest Airlines/Delta Air Lines merger finalized in 2008. Muris and Wilson said they saw Kirkland as an ideal fit because of this deals growth. Wilson expanded: "If you look at Hart-Scott-Radino Act filings, where mergers of a certain size must be reported to the FTC and DOJ before going forward, Kirkland accounted for 9 percent of all filings last year, which is an astounding number.”

Kirkland & Ellis boosts Washington M&A practice with four hires amlawdaily.typepad.com Tue, Mar 29, 2011