Winston & Strawn has lured a quartet of finance and securities lawyers from competitor Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York.
Leveraged finance lawyer Mats Carlston joins Winston & Strawn as co-chair of the firm’s global finance practice. Accompanying him are banking and trade finance lawyer William Egler, who joins as a partner, banking attorney Tim Kober, who comes aboard as of counsel, and M&A and securities lawyer David Odrich, another new partner.
In an exclusive interview with IFLR1000, Carlston described a longstanding acquaintance with attorneys at Winston & Strawn, including people on the private equity team who used to work with Carlston at Nixon Peabody, such as Dom DeChiarra, who heads up Winston’s global corporate department.
The firm’s incorporation of teams of lawyers in the past has gone well, in Carlston’s view. He cited a much larger influx of lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf, which collapsed in 2012.
“Winston & Strawn took in 70 lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf a few years back, and that was a very big success from the integration standpoint,” he said. “Jeffrey Kessler, who led the integration of lawyers from Dewey, is a highly respected partner and leader. The litigation and antitrust practice is completely integrated into the firm. The smaller team that joined on Saturday mainly represents financial institutions in leveraged finance, with a focus on the equity sponsors.”
“If you look at the metrics of the firm, in terms of leverage, capital partners, income partners, and associates, they are right up there with competition,” Carlston added.
Carlston makes his move at a juncture marked by tremendous pressure on banks with regard to the leverage levels at which buyouts can be financed.
“Part of the firm’s leveraged finance practice may be shifting over time to focus more on unregulated funds, but Winston has a long tradition in bank representation, and we intend to continue focusing on that,” he continued.
Carlston holds an LL.B. from Stockholm University and an LL.M. from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law.