In a significant shift, White & Case has recently added Keith Hallam, a renowned dealmaker from Cravath, Swaine & Moore, to their New York team. This is seen as a continuation of White & Case’s strategy of expanding its M&A operations in a competitive market that continues to globalize
Keith Hallam brings 17 years of experience, all of which he spent at Cravath, specializing in M&A and activist defense work along with offering counsel to corporations and directors on corporate and governance issues. Reflecting on the move, Hallam shared his perspective with Bloomberg Law, emphasizing the growing global nature of dealmaking and the appeal of joining a top-tier firm such as White & Case with a strong global footprint.
Hallam is not the only recent prominent addition to White & Case. The firm added Taurie Zeitzer, from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison’s M&A and private equity practice, as a co-head in its global private equity industry group in January. Patrick Sarch also rejoined the firm from Hogan Lovells to lead its UK public M&A group based out of London.
Meanwhile, for Cravath Swaine & Moore, this marks the fourth partner exit this year. Other departures included Daniel Zach, an antitrust lawyer who joined Kirkland & Ellis, and civil litigation partner Rory Leraris who moved to Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Heather McDevitt, chair at White & Case, lauded Hallam as one of the most active M&A dealmakers in the US market and said his addition further signals their dedication to expanding top-tier capabilities in the United States as well as globally.
With a client list that includes names like ADT, AerCap, Aon, and IBM among others, Hallam’s addition brings not only experience but also an impressive track record. He was lead counsel on deals such as AerCap Holdings NV’s $30 billion acquisition of General Electric’s aircraft-leasing unit and its $28 billion acquisition of International Lease Finance Corp. from American International Group.
With metric signals suggesting a resurgence in M&A markets, John Reiss, White & Case’s global head of M&A, expressed the addition of Hallam is perfectly aligned with their ambitions and comes at an opportune time.