Money talks. And apparently, when Kirkland & Ellis is doing the talking, even the fortress of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz can’t hold.
The Financial Times is reporting that Kirkland & Ellis has landed themselves quite the lateral bounty: Joshua Feltman, the Chair of Wachtell’s Restructuring and Finance Department, dangling a guaranteed pay package of $80 million over three years to lure him away from his longtime home. Let that number sink in for a moment. Eighty. Million. Dollars. Guaranteed.
Feltman joined Wachtell as an associate back in 2002, made partner in 2010, and rose to chair the firm’s elite Restructuring and Finance group. Over that time, he helped lead some of the most consequential restructurings of the last two decades, including Toys “R” Us, AMC, Expedia, and Express. He’s not just a rainmaker; he’s the kind of lawyer whose name is synonymous with an entire practice area. He’s a recognized leader in the burgeoning field of “liability management,” having advised on some of the largest and most novel transactions in the area, from Envision Healthcare to AMC Theatres.
So why would someone at that perch leave? Well, let me count the reasons… and they basically all come in the shape of dollar signs.
The timing of this hire is no coincidence. David Nemecek, who rose to legal industry prominence advising distressed companies on using liability management exercises to avoid restructuring and bankruptcy, left Kirkland & Ellis in February to join Simpson Thacher (along with fellow partners Christine Bae and Jacob Ruby). Nemecek is considered the architect of modern liability management exercises, creative out-of-court restructurings that have become an important revenue stream for elite firms and redefined how private equity sponsors manage stressed portfolio companies. The move positions Simpson Thacher to directly challenge Kirkland’s long-held dominance in that space.
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