Kirkland & Ellis is planning to launch a new office in Palo Alto later this year, writes the National Law Journal, as US firms continue to target Silicon Valley.
Kirkland's management committee has approved plans for the office to open in the autumn, with partners set to vote on the move in the spring.
The new office would become Kirkland's ninth overall, having opened in Hong Kong at the beginning of 2007, and its sixth in the US, where the firm already has California bases in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The new office is expected to focus on private equity and intellectual property litigation.
Kirkland launched its San Francisco office in 2003 and now has around 90 lawyers in the city, where the local operation is headed up by corporate partner Jeffrey Hammes. Hammes is understood to be in line to lead the Palo Alto office in the early stages of its development.
The news means Kirkland will join Chicago rivals including Mayer Brown, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and McDermott Will & Emery in operating an office in Silicon Valley. Sidley Austin is also thought to be considering a launch in the region, as is Texas giant Baker Botts.
Chuck Fanning of San Francisco-based legal recruiter Major Lindsey & Africa said: "One of the primary reasons that firms open offices in the Silicon Valley is specifically to get access to the lateral talent in that market. By accessing top lateral partner talent in that market, you're also going to be accessing the local client base."
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