Paul Weiss Adds Asset Management Duo from Skadden in New York

Paul Weiss has picked up a pair of asset management lawyers from Skadden Arps as it continues its corporate expansion.

David Hepp, co-head of Skadden’s financial institutions group and leader of its asset management transactions practice, is joining Paul Weiss along with partner Michael Collin, the firm said Thursday. Hepp will lead the firm’s new asset management M&A practice within its corporate department.

Asset management, a niche area in past decades, is now more mainstream and a growth area for Paul Weiss, Hepp said. “If you can pair a top-tier M&A practice with top-tier regulatory and funds practice, clients love the fact that they can get that,” he said.

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has been on a hiring spree over the last year, bringing top talent across its offices. The firm is poised to bring on Kirkland & Ellis investment funds partner Jeremy Leggate in London, with other adds including M&A partner Jim Langston of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and debt finance partner Eric Wedel of Kirkland & Ellis.

Paul Weiss works with major funds including Apollo Management, KKR and Oak Hill. It aided deals in the last year that include General Atlantic’s acquisition of Actis and Angelo Gordon’s $2.7 billion sale to TPG.

Adding Hepp and Collin to the corporate team helps “build something best in class,” said Marco Masotti, deputy chair of Paul Weiss’ corporate department and global co-head of the investment funds group. “The combination of our businesses—both approaching it from the strategic side and approaching it from the alternative/private equity side—can make for really compelling business, and that’s what really excites us.”

Hepp and Collin led Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom team that represented BlackRock in its $12.55 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners in January. Hepp advised on E*Trade’s $13 billion all-stock sale to Morgan Stanley and Collin aided BlackRock on its acquisition of Kreos Capital.

Hepp spent nearly 25 years at Skadden. His departure was first reported by the Financial Times in May. Collin spent nearly 14 years at Skadden.