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Skadden Arps is set to lose another of its top lawyers, as rivals continue to raid the New York corporate law firm’s lucrative practice of advising the world’s largest banks, asset managers and insurers.
David Hepp, co-head of Skadden’s financial institutions group, was leaving for crosstown rival Paul Weiss after 24 years at the firm, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Top corporate lawyers in a small number of highly profitable legal practices such as mergers and acquisitions, private equity, debt finance and bankruptcy are at the epicentre of a bidding war for elite talent that is roiling the world’s most powerful law firms.
The departure would be the latest blow to Skadden’s financial institutions group, which saw a team of five senior lawyers earlier this year decamp for another rival, Simpson Thacher. That group included Sven Mickisch, another co-head of Skadden’s financial institutions group, with clients including American Express, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
Though the departures have crimped Skadden’s business, the firm remains one of the largest and most profitable in the world. Still, they could set the stage for further defections as others seek more lucrative posts elsewhere.
Hepp is a specialist in advising asset managers and has been the lead lawyer working with BlackRock on many of its deals, including a $12.5bn purchase of private capital firm Global Infrastructure Partners, which was struck in January.
These types of deals, which are typically complex to negotiate, have become increasingly commonplace in recent years as large buyout groups and asset managers have been seeking to expand into fast-growing areas such as private credit and infrastructure.
The swoop by Paul Weiss comes as it has made several raids in Los Angeles, New York and London to bolster its roster of dealmakers — in some cases guaranteeing as much as $20mn in annual pay to lure senior advisers from competitors.
Paul Weiss also saw its revenues and profit per equity partner soar last year, growing to over $2bn and $6.5mn, respectively, according to The American Lawyer data.
Skadden generated revenue of $3.27bn and profit per equity partner of $5.4mn over the same period, the data shows.
Skadden last week also lost two top advisers in its technology practice — Mike Ringler and Peter Jones — who joined rival Sullivan & Cromwell in Palo Alto, California.
Paul Weiss declined to comment. Skadden did not respond to several requests for comment.