Kirkland & Ellis, professional home to many a high-profile lateral hire in recent years, saw a key acquisition from a decade ago retire this month from the firm’s vaunted bankruptcy group. But that hasn’t slowed Kirkland’s booming restructuring business.
A Kirkland spokeswoman confirmed the retirement of noted restructuring partner Richard “Rick” Cieri to The Am Law Daily this week. During his 35-year career, Cieri guided companies such as Federated Department Stores, Trans World Airlines and Tronox through Chapter 11 proceedings. The American Lawyer named Cieri a Dealmaker of the Year in 2009 for his work on the bankruptcy cases of energy giant Calpine and chemical company Solutia, the latter of which Kirkland also advised on its $4.7 billion sale to Eastman Chemical in 2012.
