From Investing.com: 2024-05-06 18:06:11

Law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has hired top dealmaker Jim Langston from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton as a partner in its M&A practice. Langston, known for his work on large public and private company transactions, will be based in New York and join the corporate department led by Scott Barshay. Langston advised on high-profile transactions like Medtronic’s $49.9 billion acquisition of Covidien during his time at Cleary.

The move is part of a trend of high-profile hires at top law firms that have shifted away from the traditional “lockstep” pay system. Langston, who worked at Cleary for over a decade, will join a team that closely ties pay to performance. The M&A practice at Paul Weiss, known for advising on large deals including Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp, has seen a rebound in global M&A activity during the first quarter of 2024.

Langston’s move to Paul Weiss follows a trend of star deal lawyers being rewarded with multi-million dollar pay packages based on performance rather than seniority. The firm has attracted other top talent like Scott Barshay from Cravath, Swaine & Moore in 2016. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer also poached dealmaker Damien Zoubek from Cravath in 2021. Global M&A volumes jumped 30% to around $755.1 billion in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, signaling a market rebound.



Read more at Investing.com: Paul Weiss hires top deals lawyer Langston from Cleary By Reuters