Kirkland & Ellis has hired a pair of senior trial lawyers from Orrick, as it continues a hiring surge in its litigation practice.
The firm has hired partners Meghan Kelly and Bill Oxley, who co-led Orrick’s complex litigation and dispute resolution practice. They are the latest of more than 150 laterals the firm has added to its litigation practice so far this year.
“Meghan and Bill are exceptional trial lawyers with a track record of successfully representing clients in their most high-profile litigation matters,” said Jon Ballis, chairman of Kirkland’s executive committee. “They’re joining in a period of significant growth for our litigation practice, and we’re thrilled to have them on board.”
Kelly and Oxley focus on product liability, mass tort and commercial litigation matters and have acted for Johnson & Johnson and Dow Chemical, among other clients. They joined Orrick in 2022 from Baker Hostetler, before which they practised together at Dechert.
Oxley, who is based in Los Angeles, is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has represented clients in matters across product liability, breach of contract, trademark, intellectual property and business tort cases.
Meanwhile, Kelly has notched first-chair trial wins for companies across industries, including chemical, pharmaceutical, automotive, biotechnology, manufacturing and food. She has joined the Philadelphia office Kirkland opened early this year with a mass torts team from Skadden led by renowned litigator and trial lawyer Allison Brown.
At Kirkland, the duo will be part of a 970-lawyer litigation practice that consistently earns top billing in the legal rankings guides. The firm’s product liability and mass torts practice has a significant presence in bet-the-company disputes for generic pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies, according to Chambers and Partners, including multidistrict litigation and class actions.
The practice has longstanding relationships with Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories, which it represented in multidistrict litigation arising out of a recall of infant formula. It also acted for Allergan in thousands of civil suits related to the company’s sale and marketing of opioid painkillers.
Commenting on her move, Kelly pointed to Kirkland’s “clear commitment” to continuing to grow its complex litigation bench, adding the practice includes “many of the top women trial lawyers in the country”.
Kirkland’s litigation push has seen it stockpile lawyers with mass tort capabilities this year as it moves to dominate the mass tort defence market. In May, the firm recruited a 13-partner team from King & Spalding across the US that included prominent figures like Kristen Fournier and Kim Bueno, and in August, it brought on product liability and mass tort partner Nils Snell in Philadelphia from Butler Snow.
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