Kirkland & Ellis has hired Will Aitken-Davies, Head of European M&A at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, in another significant move within London’s increasingly competitive private equity market.
The hire adds further momentum to the ongoing battle among elite US firms to secure senior dealmakers with deep sponsor and infrastructure relationships, particularly as firms continue to invest heavily in London.
Aitken-Davies is widely regarded as one of the leading M&A lawyers in the European market, advising major financial sponsors and infrastructure investors on complex cross-border transactions. His experience spans private equity and infrastructure deals, including acquisitions, carve-outs, co-investments, consortium transactions and public M&A mandates.
He is particularly well known for his work across the energy and infrastructure, industrials, technology and financial services sectors.
Before joining Paul Weiss as part of the firm’s high-profile London expansion in 2023, Aitken-Davies was a partner at Linklaters LLP.
His move to Kirkland underscores the continued intensity of competition for top-tier private equity talent in London, with firms increasingly focused on strengthening sponsor relationships and expanding their bench of senior transactional lawyers.
Aitken-Davies is ranked by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 and IFLR1000.