Key Takeaways
- • Kirkland & Ellis announced that 40 lawyers from Weil, Gotshal & Manges will join the firm in January 2027, adding a team spanning private equity, M&A and debt finance.
- • The incoming group is led by private equity and M&A partners Ramona Nee, Jakub Wronski, Emily Willey and Michael Messina, alongside debt finance partners Benton Lewis and Paul Overmyer.
- • Nee brings more than 25 years advising financial sponsors on leveraged buyouts, take-privates, carve-outs and joint ventures, with hundreds of transactions representing tens of billions of dollars in aggregate value.
- • Kirkland leadership cited the partners' relationships with leading private equity sponsors as a central rationale for the appointment.
Summary
Kirkland & Ellis has announced that 40 lawyers from Weil, Gotshal & Manges will join the firm in January 2027. The incoming team covers private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and debt finance, pairing ownership-side deal capacity with the financing work that typically accompanies it.
The group is led by private equity and M&A partners Ramona Nee, Jakub Wronski, Emily Willey and Michael Messina, and debt finance partners Benton Lewis and Paul Overmyer. Nee brings more than 25 years of experience advising financial sponsors and portfolio companies on leveraged buyouts, take-private transactions, carve-outs, joint ventures and other complex deals, including hundreds of transactions representing tens of billions of dollars in aggregate value. Wronski advises private equity sponsors, institutional investors and public and private companies on buyouts, joint ventures, minority investments and divestitures across technology and communications, financial services, industrials and consumer sectors.
Willey and Messina represent private equity sponsors and portfolio companies in acquisitions, divestitures and other corporate transactions. On the financing side, Lewis advises on acquisition financing, asset-based working capital facilities, debtor-in-possession and exit financing, and workouts and restructurings, while Overmyer represents sponsors, borrowers and financial institutions in acquisition financing, first- and second-lien credit facilities, asset-based lending and restructurings.
Kirkland Chairman of the Executive Committee Jon A. Ballis said the partners have built deep relationships with many of the world's leading private equity sponsors and will be a strong fit with the firm's platform and clients. Ramona Nee, incoming partner, said the team was grateful for the opportunity to join Kirkland and described the platform as an outstanding fit for its clients.
The group is led by private equity and M&A partners Ramona Nee, Jakub Wronski, Emily Willey and Michael Messina, and debt finance partners Benton Lewis and Paul Overmyer. Nee brings more than 25 years of experience advising financial sponsors and portfolio companies on leveraged buyouts, take-private transactions, carve-outs, joint ventures and other complex deals, including hundreds of transactions representing tens of billions of dollars in aggregate value. Wronski advises private equity sponsors, institutional investors and public and private companies on buyouts, joint ventures, minority investments and divestitures across technology and communications, financial services, industrials and consumer sectors.
Willey and Messina represent private equity sponsors and portfolio companies in acquisitions, divestitures and other corporate transactions. On the financing side, Lewis advises on acquisition financing, asset-based working capital facilities, debtor-in-possession and exit financing, and workouts and restructurings, while Overmyer represents sponsors, borrowers and financial institutions in acquisition financing, first- and second-lien credit facilities, asset-based lending and restructurings.
Kirkland Chairman of the Executive Committee Jon A. Ballis said the partners have built deep relationships with many of the world's leading private equity sponsors and will be a strong fit with the firm's platform and clients. Ramona Nee, incoming partner, said the team was grateful for the opportunity to join Kirkland and described the platform as an outstanding fit for its clients.
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