Kirkland & Ellis has added to its
London tax practice with the hire of Jane Scobie from US rival Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Scobie, who was a senior associate at Weil Gotshal, will become the third partner in Kirkland’s City tax group alongside Ian Taplin and John Baldry. Her practice focuses on private equity, including company takeovers and corporate restructurings
Taplin, the head of Kirkland’s European tax practice, was hired by Kirkland to launch the practice in 2003, moving from accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Baldry joined the firm from Weil Gotshal in 2006 where he was counsel in the tax practice.
Taplin said: “Jane’s private equity tax background fits in perfectly and she will provide additional strength to our European tax practice.”
The hire follows two high-profile losses for Kirkland’s London office. Private equity partner Raymond McKeeve quit the firm in March, while April saw the departure of restructuring partner Richard East, who left to launch the London office of litigation specialist Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges.
Meanwhile in August the US the firm launched an office in the coveted tech market of Palo, a move that handed the Chicago-based law firm its third practice in California.
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