Sidley Austin appoints Robert Darwin

Sidley Austin appoints Robert Darwin

The Chicago giants rebuild after their loss to Goodwin Procter, adding Robert Darwin to the European PE bench

As part of an ongoing restocking of its PE bench in Europe, Sidley Austin has brought on a life sciences consultant from Dechert after losing six partners to US rival Goodwin Procter in 2020/21.

Following his tenure as a partner at Dechert, Robert Darwin moves to the Chicago-based firm in London. The firm said he practices private equity, M&A, as well as collaborative deals, with a special focus on the life sciences and healthcare sectors.

A former partner of Hogan Lovells, Darwin worked for five years there before joining Dechert, which he spent three years as a provider of PE and M&A services in the tech, consumer, and industrial sectors. Withers, Faegre & Benson and Slaughter and May were also employment stop for him earlier.

After losing six PE partners to US rival Goodwin Procter in London and Germany over the 14 months prior to this, his appointment follows Sidley's hiring of Dan Graham, Paul Dunbar, and Emilie Stewart from Vinson & Elkins in August 2021.

In addition to Erik Dahl, Sidley's former Managing Partner and Co-Leader of its global private equity practice, Christian Iwasko, who joined Kirkland & Ellis in 2016 and was credited with launching the firm's European practice, jumped ship as well.

Darwin is a member of the firm's management and executive committees and represents the firm's London office in European transactions, says Tom Thesing, head of the firm's London office. His addition will enhance Sidley's capability in European life sciences and healthcare transactions, which is a priority for the firm.

As the firm keeps expanding in Europe, Thesing said he is "excited to be able to bring Sidley on board with Darwin."

A 200-strong group of life sciences lawyers at Sidley includes attorneys working in the biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical device industries. At present, the firm has seven partners and 13 life sciences lawyers in London.

Darwin says he hopes to grow his practice immediately with Sidley's growing life sciences and healthcare transactions group as a "key factor," before adding that the firm's recent growth was another reason for his relocation.

Asher Rubin, who is co-head of Hogan Lovells' life sciences practice, joined Sidley last year, helping to boost the firm's US capabilities to greater heights. Having joined the firm in Baltimore on January, 2021 Rubin joined fellow life sciences partner Adriana Tibbitts.

Additionally, seven private equity lawyers and two healthcare lawyers were promoted to partner in December as part of a broader promotion round that saw 42 lawyers promoted from across the firm's offices in the US, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

During the same month, Dechert managed to convince Mark Evans, one of its London private equity lawyers, to remain with the firm. Evans, who joined White & Case a month earlier, is one of White & Case's partners.