Kirkland & Ellis Hires Private Equity/M&A Attorney Ryan Harris in Chicago

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Ryan D. Harris has joined the Firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group.

“Ryan is a talented and driven young private equity attorney with a great reputation in Chicago and beyond,” said Jeffrey C. Hammes, Chairman of Kirkland’s Global Management Executive Committee. “He brings a practical and strategic approach to helping clients achieve their business objectives in their transactions. We recognized his tremendous skill set and wanted him on our team. We are excited to welcome him to the Firm.”

Mr. Harris’ practice is focused on complex transactions including leveraged buyouts for private equity funds, domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as well as general corporate representations for publicly held corporations, private/family owned companies and private equity funds and their portfolio companies. He joins Kirkland from McDermott Will & Emery, where he was a partner.

“Kirkland offered me a great opportunity to continue serving the middle market, but also do more work on bulge bracket transactions,” said Mr. Harris. “I have worked alongside and across from Kirkland lawyers for many years and have always admired the Firm. It is a high quality, terrific brand and I’m glad to be part of the team.”

Mr. Harris was recognized by The National Law Journal in its 2013 “Chicago 40 Under 40” feature, which highlighted up-and-coming attorneys in the Chicago legal community. The M&A Advisor also honored Mr. Harris in its 40 Under 40 competition, which recognized emerging leaders in the M&A, finance and turnaround industries.

Mr. Harris earned a law degree at Northwestern University School of Law. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Emory University. He is an adjunct professor of mergers and acquisitions at Northwestern University School of Law.

Kirkland’s transactional practice includes approximately 800 lawyers serving public and private companies, and more than 400 private equity firms in every major market around the world.

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