Private Equity Push, Silicon Valley Surge Continue for Paul Hastings with Addition of PE Partner, Co-Chair of Israel Practice

March 05, 2019

Palo Alto—Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm, announced today that Alex Kaufman, a private equity partner and co-chair of the Israel practice at Morrison Foerster, has joined Paul Hastings as a partner in Palo Alto. Kaufman joins a long list of recent laterals that have joined the firm’s thriving Silicon Valley, London and New York offices and follows numerous additions to the firm’s $100 million+ Private Equity practice.

“Our Private Equity practice had an exceptionally strong year in 2018 and the addition of leading talent like Alex and other recent laterals is a sign of the firm’s accelerated growth in PE,” said Seth Zachary, chair of Paul Hastings. “We’re incredibly pleased to find dynamic talent — lawyers that are attracted to the entrepreneurial opportunities to grow their practice and to be part of Paul Hastings’ future success,” he added.

I was attracted by Paul Hastings’ impressive growth, leadership, and our shared client relationships,” said Kaufman. “I am particularly excited to join Paul Hastings in the Bay Area, where the firm has strength in both San Francisco and Palo Alto. I am looking forward to building my practice to its full potential with Paul Hastings,” he added.

Kaufman advises private equity funds and standalone technology companies on M&A transactions, including leveraged buyouts, growth equity investments and divestitures, with an emphasis on the software and technology sectors. His clients have included many of the leading technology-focused buyout and growth equity funds in the Bay Area.

Mr. Kaufman graduated, with honors, from the Emory University School of Law, where he served as the senior editor of the Emory International Law Review, president of the Jewish Law Students Association, and senior advisor to the Federalist Society. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Paul Hastings’ $100m+ Private Equity practice, which in 2018 saw the lateral additions of Anu Balasubramanian in London, Kfir Abutbul in Houston, and Ira Kustin in New York, represents clients across its global offices. Last year the firm represented CDH, described as “the KKR of China,” on a deal that brings novel liver cancer treatments to China. The firm advised CDH on the US$1.4 billion acquisition of all the issued shares of Sirtex Medical, an Australia-based medical device company. Paul Hastings’ Private Equity practice also took the lead for GI Partners’ life science deal to combine California Cryobank and Cord Blood Registry to form the market leader in stem cell storage and reproductive tissue services and BPOC’s sale of Paragon Medical for $375 million.

At Paul Hastings, our purpose is clear — to help our clients and people navigate new paths to growth. With a strong presence throughout Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S., Paul Hastings is recognized as one of the world’s most innovative global law firms.