Kirkland Welcomes ESG & Impact Partner Ruth Knox in London

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that Ruth Knox will join the Firm as a partner in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) & Impact Practice Group. Ms. Knox will be based in the Firm’s London office.

Ms. Knox brings with her nearly a decade of experience advising clients on ESG matters, including the European Union sustainable finance package, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, and the Financial Conduct Authority’s requirements for United Kingdom funds, as well as other ESG regulatory obligations and market imperatives. She provides counsel to clients navigating ESG issues that arise in mergers and acquisitions and project finance transactions, and has significant experience in crisis management.

“The ability to take a cross-jurisdictional perspective and bring together talent across different geographies is critical to the success of our ESG & Impact practice,” said partner Alexandra Farmer, head of Kirkland’s ESG & Impact practice. “Ruth’s keen understanding of the ESG and climate change regulatory landscape in the UK and EU, combined with her eminent business savvy and determination, make her an excellent addition to our growing global practice. Her experience will enhance the ongoing collaboration that we have built with our London investment funds and financial services regulatory practices, and contribute significantly to our capacity to support our international ESG & Impact-focused clients in transactions and other advisory matters.”

She studied Law with French Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Robert Schuman University, Strasbourg III, and earned a master’s degree from University College London (with distinction). Ms. Knox joins Kirkland from Linklaters LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s corporate, ESG, crisis management and automotive sector teams.

“I’m delighted to join Kirkland at a time of investment in its already strong, growing and diverse ESG & Impact Practice. I look forward to enabling our clients to craft and execute both sustainable and commercial ESG strategies and regulatory compliance programs throughout the years to come,” Ms. Knox said.

Ms. Knox’s arrival will follow ESG & Impact partners Mary Beth Houlihan, who joined the Firm’s New York office in July, and Sara Orr, who joined the Firm’s Chicago office in May.

Kirkland’s ESG & Impact Practice Group provides clients with sophisticated, multidisciplinary advice and state-of-the-art market intelligence as they navigate the opportunities and challenges related to ESG and impact investing across the investment and operational life cycles. Over the last year, as market and regulatory trends have made ESG a central component of its clients’ business strategies, Kirkland has integrated ESG into all aspects of its transactional practice, including investment funds, energy/infrastructure, private equity/M&A, capital markets, and debt finance. Kirkland partners with its clients to develop ESG and impact strategies tailored to their unique circumstances and goals, including integrating ESG into corporate and fund sponsor governance structures, forming impact funds and ESG-related SPACs, leading ESG due diligence, and structuring sustainability bonds and loans. Kirkland is recognized as a leading law firm in ESG risk globally in the inaugural 2021 edition of Chambers & Partners’ Crisis & Risk Management guide.

Kirkland is also committed to being a leader in corporate social responsibility, including by improving communities and the legal profession through philanthropy; embracing and promoting diversity and inclusion and wellbeing within the Firm and the legal profession; reducing the Firm’s environmental impact; and providing legal services without charge to those who cannot afford counsel.