Sidley Austin grows global private equity practice with hire of New York partners from Paul Weiss

Sidley Austin has welcomed Jeffrey Kochian, Gerald Brant, and Brittany Harrison as partners in the firm’s M&A and private equity practice. Erika Cohen has also joined as counsel. Based in New York, the team joined from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in New York, where they worked with financial sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as private and public companies.

The new partners are focused on private equity and mergers and acquisitions, with a particular emphasis on representing financial sponsors.

Previously, Sidley announced the additions of private equity partners Ramy Wahbeh and Kaisa Kuusk – also from Paul, Weiss – who joined with a team of five other lawyers: Florian Kamp and Tanya Indisova as counsel and three associates. The addition of this group of 11 private equity lawyers reflects Sidley’s commitment to its growing private equity practice.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jeff, Gerald, Brittany, and Erika to our world-class team of lawyers,” said Michael Schmidtberger, Sidley’s executive committee chair and management committee member. “Their reputations and proven track records in delivering outstanding results for clients make them a valuable addition to our New York office and our M&A and private equity practice group.”

“As we continue to invest in our existing clients, Jeff, Gerald, Brittany, and Erika will help us continue to build on our commitment to providing exceptional corporate legal services to clients,” said Yvette Ostolaza, Sidley’s management committee chair and executive committee member. “Together they bring a deep level of experience navigating complex deals to completion across a broad array of industries and regulatory environments.”