Key Takeaways
- • Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has expanded its global private equity platform with the addition of Dilen Kumar as a corporate partner in its Dallas office, hired from Katten Muchin Rosenman.
- • A premier team of four senior attorneys—Gerald Brant (named head of U.S. private equity practice), Jeffrey Kochian, Jonathon Hamill, and Brittany Harrison—joined Akin's New York and London offices, bringing deep expertise in control private equity, M&A, and capital solutions.
- • The hires strengthen Akin's ability to advise clients across the full capital structure, addressing the increasing complexity of multi-dimensional private equity strategies requiring integrated counsel across structures and markets.
- • Gerald Brant is recognized by The Legal 500 for Private Equity Buyouts; Kochian holds IFLR1000 Highly Regarded rankings; Hamill is a market leader in European hybrid capital and recognized by The Legal 500 UK 2026 for high-value PE transactions.
- • The expansion accelerates Akin's private equity growth strategy and positions the firm to serve leading sponsor relationships across platform acquisitions, carve-outs, divestitures, and complex governance matters.
Summary
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has executed a significant expansion of its global private equity platform through multiple partner-level hires across three offices. The firm added Dilen Kumar as a corporate partner in Dallas, complementing the simultaneous arrival of four senior attorneys in New York and London, collectively strengthening the firm's competitive positioning in the high-stakes private equity advisory market.
Kumar, hired from Katten Muchin Rosenman, joins Akin's corporate practice and brings established expertise advising private equity sponsors and public and private companies. His addition to the Dallas office represents a geographic extension of the firm's private equity capabilities beyond its traditional strongholds. Concurrently, Akin onboarded Gerald Brant, Jeffrey Kochian, Jonathon Hamill, and Brittany Harrison across New York and London. Of these, three—Brant, Kochian, and Harrison—are returning to the firm, while Hamill represents a new external hire. Brant has been elevated to head of Akin's U.S. private equity practice, underscoring his seniority and strategic importance to the expansion.
The collective team brings complementary expertise across the private equity ecosystem. Brant is recognized by The Legal 500 for his work on platform acquisitions, carve-outs, divestitures, and governance matters affecting leading sponsor clients. Kochian maintains consistent IFLR1000 Highly Regarded rankings and advises on control acquisitions, complex M&A, joint ventures, capital markets, and shareholder activism. Hamill brings market-leading experience in Europe's hybrid capital markets and holds The Legal 500 UK 2026 recognition for Private Equity: Transactions in high-value deals. Harrison advises sponsors, portfolio companies, and public companies on control acquisitions, M&A, and structured investments.
According to Akin, the expansion directly addresses the evolution of private equity into increasingly multidimensional strategies requiring integrated counsel across structures, strategies, and geographic markets. The hires enhance the firm's ability to advise clients across the full capital structure—from platform construction through complex financing arrangements—positioning Akin to serve leading sponsors on transformative transactions. The firm's emphasis on "senior sponsor relationships" and "critical mass at the intersection of control private equity, complex M&A, and capital solutions" signals competitive focus on the most sophisticated, high-value segments of the market.
Kumar, hired from Katten Muchin Rosenman, joins Akin's corporate practice and brings established expertise advising private equity sponsors and public and private companies. His addition to the Dallas office represents a geographic extension of the firm's private equity capabilities beyond its traditional strongholds. Concurrently, Akin onboarded Gerald Brant, Jeffrey Kochian, Jonathon Hamill, and Brittany Harrison across New York and London. Of these, three—Brant, Kochian, and Harrison—are returning to the firm, while Hamill represents a new external hire. Brant has been elevated to head of Akin's U.S. private equity practice, underscoring his seniority and strategic importance to the expansion.
The collective team brings complementary expertise across the private equity ecosystem. Brant is recognized by The Legal 500 for his work on platform acquisitions, carve-outs, divestitures, and governance matters affecting leading sponsor clients. Kochian maintains consistent IFLR1000 Highly Regarded rankings and advises on control acquisitions, complex M&A, joint ventures, capital markets, and shareholder activism. Hamill brings market-leading experience in Europe's hybrid capital markets and holds The Legal 500 UK 2026 recognition for Private Equity: Transactions in high-value deals. Harrison advises sponsors, portfolio companies, and public companies on control acquisitions, M&A, and structured investments.
According to Akin, the expansion directly addresses the evolution of private equity into increasingly multidimensional strategies requiring integrated counsel across structures, strategies, and geographic markets. The hires enhance the firm's ability to advise clients across the full capital structure—from platform construction through complex financing arrangements—positioning Akin to serve leading sponsors on transformative transactions. The firm's emphasis on "senior sponsor relationships" and "critical mass at the intersection of control private equity, complex M&A, and capital solutions" signals competitive focus on the most sophisticated, high-value segments of the market.
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