David Hong Joins Kirkland’s Special Situations Practice in New York
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is pleased to announce that David K. Hong has joined the Firm as a partner in the special situations group. Mr. Hong will be based in the Firm’s New York office.
Mr. Hong has extensive experience advising on complex debt finance, distressed/stressed situations, opportunistic, event-driven investments and CDS transactions. His focus will include assisting funds and other non-traditional capital providers in opportunistic, special situations financings, restructuring/bankruptcy situations (including distressed and rescue financing), credit analysis, CDS strategies and secured transactions.
“David is an all-round credit lawyer whose extensive in-house and private practice experience at the center of distressed and special situations investments has given him invaluable insight into how our clients approach these opportunities, their concerns, considerations and objectives,” said Kirkland special situations partner Ranesh Ramanathan. “We are delighted David has decided to join our growing team.”
Mr. Hong received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from University of California, Berkeley. He joins Kirkland from King Street Capital Management, L.P. where he worked closely with the investment team in the formation of investment theses, structuring transactions, and identifying legal value drivers for the prior 15 years.
“Kirkland has top-tier practices in all of the key areas that are critical to special situations,” said Mr. Hong. “Couple that with Kirkland’s unrivalled breadth globally and entrepreneurial spirit, the Firm offers an extremely compelling proposition to clients and a very exciting opportunity for me to help accelerate the growth of the practice and assist clients in creatively deploying capital in downside protected ways.”
Kirkland’s special situations group partners with investors and companies on tailored, innovative capital and liquidity solutions. By bringing together Kirkland’s market-leading debt finance, private equity and M&A, restructuring, capital markets and investment funds practices, the special situations group brings creative solutions to clients considering these complex global situations.