In a strategic move, leading law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has announced the recruitment of Chelsea Darnell to their corporate team. Previously an M&A partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Darnell has joined the team in New York City.
Prior to her stint at Kirkland, Darnell was associated with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in 2021. Over her career, she has assisted prominent companies in critical acquisitions and sales. One of her notable assignments includes assisting Eli Lilly and Company in acquiring Dice Therapeutics. In addition, she played a key role in Ping Identity’s sale to Thoma Bravo and Cvent Holding Corp.’s sale to Blackstone. Besides, she has advised Vista Equity Partners on taking privates of Model, Duck Creek, Knowbe4, and Citrix, along with assisting KKR & Co. in its privates of CIRCOR International and Chase Corporation.
Commenting on her appointment, Scott A. Barshay, chair of the Paul Weiss corporate team, lauded Chelsea as a “superstar young public company M&A partner”. He expressed optimism about their collaboration in the years to come.
The appointment is in line with the ongoing efforts by Paul Weiss to strengthen its corporate practice under Barshay’s leadership. Earlier in May, the firm recruited Jim Langston from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Furthermore, in a bid to expand their London operations, the firm appointed Dan Schuster-Woldan from Linklaters as head of European public M&A in January.
Read the full press release here.