Leading M&A Lawyer Sarkis Jebejian Joins New York Office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced today that Sarkis Jebejian has joined the New York office as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group. Mr. Jebejian joins the Firm from the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where he was a partner in the corporate department.

"Sarkis is one of the country's leading M&A practitioners with significant experience representing clients on a wide range of transactional, corporate governance and M&A work," said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee.

Mr. Jebejian focuses his practice on M&A, both domestic and cross-border, and has completed numerous billion dollar-plus transactions involving several Fortune 100 companies and the largest and most sophisticated global private equity firms. Most recently, he represented Flagstone Reinsurance in its sale to Validus Holdings; Genpact in an investment by Bain Capital and its acquisition of Headstrong; BAE Systems in its sale of Safariland and acquisitions of Armor Holdings and United Defense Industries; and KKR Private Equity Investors in its combination transaction with KKR & Co., L.P., which achieved the public listing of KKR's private equity business.

Other high-profile advisory roles include representing the independent directors of General Motors in connection with the conversion of GMAC into a bank holding company and the related restructuring of GM's investment in GMAC, and advising the independent directors of Merrill Lynch in its acquisition by Bank of America. Mr. Jebejian regularly provides governance and other general corporate advice to many other clients and their boards of directors, including counsel on compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act.

"Sarkis' substantial experience in helping clients with their most complex transactional needs will be an invaluable addition to our top-tier M&A and private equity practices," said David Fox, partner in the New York office and a member of Kirkland's Global Management Executive Committee. "He will be a great complement to the strong platform we have built and will be a key leader of our practice moving forward."

Mr. Jebejian has been recognized as a leading M&A attorney in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and The Legal 500 U.S. He was named a "Star Partner" by The Lawyer in its Transatlantic Elite 2011 supplement for his work in the energy industry and was chosen by corporate counsel as one of the 2012 BTI Client Service All-Stars for his commitment to understanding his clients' legal and business objectives, recognizing client goals, and providing innovative and effective solutions.

Mr. Jebejian holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a B.A. from Columbia College.

"It was a difficult decision to leave Cravath and I will always cherish my career there, but I am excited to join Kirkland & Ellis and its talented team of M&A lawyers, many of whom I have known for some time," Mr. Jebejian said. "I look forward to working alongside them to continue to build Kirkland's industry-leading corporate practice."

Kirkland has one of the most active and highly regarded global corporate practices, representing many of the world's largest public companies and more than 300 private equity firms on all types of transactions in every major market around the globe.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a 1,600-attorney law firm representing global clients in complex corporate and tax, restructuring, litigation and dispute resolution/arbitration, and intellectual property and technology matters. The Firm has offices in New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington, D.C.

SOURCE Kirkland & Ellis LLP