Akin hires Jonathon Hamill in London private equity push

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP has bolstered its private equity practice by recruiting four partners from Sidley Austin, reflecting the firm's strategic push to deepen bench strength in alternative investment advisory. The move places three returning partners—Gerald Brant (head of US private equity), Jeffrey Kochian, and Brittany Harrison—in the New York office, while Jonathon Hamill joins the London team. The timing and composition of the hire underscore Akin's ambitions to capture higher-value PE work across transatlantic markets.

Hamill, the London-based recruit, represents a particularly notable addition given his specialized focus on leveraged buyouts, carve-outs, and structurally complex PE transactions. He made partner at Sidley in early 2024 after spending just under five years at the firm, where he advanced from senior associate to partnership. Prior to Sidley, Hamill was a senior associate at Vinson & Elkins starting in 2021, and during his Sidley tenure, he spent approximately one year on secondment at a major PE sponsor, providing operational exposure to the institutional investment landscape he now advises.

The four-partner team collectively specializes across the full spectrum of private equity, M&A, and capital solutions transactions, positioning Akin to serve both sponsor and financial buyer constituencies with enhanced depth. This recruitment follows Akin's recent hiring pattern of bolstering its alternative investment practice, signaling confidence in market demand for sophisticated PE-focused legal counsel. For institutional investors and PE sponsors evaluating counsel relationships, the move signals Akin's renewed commitment to private equity as a core practice pillar and reflects confidence in the market's continued appetite for complex, mid-market to large-cap transactions.