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Graham Robinson, a top biotech and technology lawyer, is set to depart Skadden Arps for Kirkland & Ellis, as the jockeying for talent among Big Law firms continues to heat up despite a slowdown in dealmaking, according to people familiar with the matter.
Robinson, a high-ranking Skadden partner advising listed biotechs and high-profile clients, including WeWork, had informed the firm of his plans to leave, the people said.
Robinson, who will depart alongside senior Skadden partners Laura Knoll and Chadé Severin, would command a salary worth potentially $20mn a year, the people said.
The move underscores how the war for talent among top law firms remains hot despite a slowdown in dealmaking since US President Donald Trump’s trade war cooled a return of animal spirits.
Elite law firms have been locked in a series of bidding wars for corporate lawyers in a handful of highly lucrative practices, such as M&A and private equity, raising the pay of deal lawyers to a level comparable to star athletes.
Robinson joined Skadden in 2012 from WilmerHale and grew to become one of the firm’s top revenue generators.
Skadden, Kirkland, Robinson, Knoll and Severin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since 2016, Robinson has ranked as the top M&A lawyer in biotech for both deal value and volume, according to Deal Point Data. Recent notable biopharma transactions he advised on include Array BioPharma’s $11.4bn sale to Pfizer and Alpine Immune Sciences’ $4.9bn sale to Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the biggest biotech deal of last year.
This year, Robinson advised the special committee of industrial technology group Aspen Technology on its $7.2bn takeover by minority shareholder Emerson. Robinson also advised on several multibillion-dollar deals and capital raises for WeWork during its tumultuous run as a public company before it went into bankruptcy.
Skadden’s partners were informed about Robinson’s departure on Monday, the people added. Robinson and the two other partners will join Kirkland after a gardening leave, as Kirkland looks to grow its client base from private equity to strategic clients.
In the past two years Skadden has lost a series of top corporate lawyers, though it remains the top law firm for public company M&A.
David Hepp and Sven Mickisch, two top financial services lawyers who advise large US banks and asset managers, left for rivals Paul Weiss and Simpson Thacher, respectively.
Separately, top tech advisers Peter Jones and Mike Ringler, who recently advised Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence group xAI on its merger with his social media platform X for $45bn, quit for Sullivan & Cromwell.
