Simpson Thacher re-appoints real estate finance partner
Simpson Thacher re-appoints real estate finance partner
A Chicago-based rival recruited James Esterkin back to the firm in 2017 after he had left for a rival firm five years before.
James Esterkin has returned to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a partner in its real estate practice in London after being hired by US rival Kirkland & Ellis.
Esterkin returns five years after departing for Kirkland & Ellis as a real estate finance associate. He was promoted to partner in Kirkland in 2018. After beginning his career at Berwin Leighton Paisner - now Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner - in 2011, he was an associate at Simpson Thacher between 2013 and 2017.
Firm executives reported that he specializes in complex real estate acquisition and development financing, nonperforming loan financing arrangements, and real estate-related debt restructuring.
Esterkin worked with other Kirkland partners Vincent Ponsonaille and Laurent Victor-Michel on Accor Invest Group's €4.5 billion financial restructuring in 2021. In addition, he advised Brookfield Asset Management in relation to Brookfield's recommendation to purchase Dublin-based public REIT Hibernia earlier this year.
Thompson Thacher's London real estate team has been extremely busy this year. For example, in February, it advised Blackstone on the $24 billion recapitalisation of Mileway, Europe's largest operator of urban warehouses, in the largest private real estate transaction in history.
"James brings a unique blend of skills and experience across the real estate sector with experience in all sectors and geographic regions within Europe that will be extremely valuable to our clients," said Alden Millard, chairman of Simpson Thacher's executive committee.
A number of lateral hires were made at Simpson Thacher in London in 2020, including Allen & Overy's former global antitrust co-head Antonio Bavasso, who came on board as the firm's Brussels office head last September. Three London lawyers were promoted to partner in 2020, but in 2021 only one Londoner was promoted to partner and the City's only spot went to Jiaying Zhang.
