Paul, Weiss expands in difficult Northern California market

Paul, Weiss expands in difficult Northern California market

With the expansion of its San Francisco office with Kirkland & Ellis hires, Paul, Weiss wades heads-on into the notoriously difficult market for Wall Street firms

Global law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has wades heads-on into the notoriously difficult market of Northern California for Wall Street law firm by expanding its newly established San Francisco office.

Kirkland & Ellis partner Austin Pollet is all set to join Paul, Weiss to give it a leg up in the region. Pollet, who had joined Kirkland in 2013, focuses on all aspects of private equity transactions, with an emphasis on deals involving technology companies.

"Austin is a rising star in private equity," said Scott Barshay, chair of Paul Weiss' corporate department, in a statement. He has "substantial experience at a young age across a spectrum of transactions involving high growth technology companies."

Pollet follows the June hire of Boies Schiller Flexner litigators Karen Dunn and Bill Isaacson, whose client list included Apple Inc., Oracle Corp. and Uber Technologies Corp.

In January, Paul, Weiss added Melinda Haag, Walter Brown, and Randy Luskey from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, and Kirkland's Jeremy Veit, to build out its San Francisco office.

Pollet represents private equity firms including in domestic and cross-border leveraged and management buyouts, venture and growth capital investments, divestitures, and other mergers and acquisitions.

His addition will add to the firm's transactional capabilities in California, Paul, Weiss chairman Brad Karp said in a statement. He noted that Pollet is "deeply embedded in the California business and tech community."

Pollet is the latest lateral addition for the Wall Street firm, which last year saw its gross revenue increase 11.2 per cent to $1.54 billion and profits per equity partner soar 14.3 per cent to $5.369 million, according to figures from the American Lawyer.