Kirkland loses top PE partner

US law firm Kirkland & Ellis has lost its London-based private equity hotshot Raymond McKeeve, who has left to pursue a career outside the legal industry.

McKeeve joined the firm from Linklaters along with Graham White in 2006 and was regarded as quite a coup at the time, particularly as White was Linklaters’ global head of private equity. The two arrived together in 2001 from SJ Berwin, and before that were at Dickson Minto.

Some of McKeeve’s clients have included R20 Limited – the Robert Tchenguiz investment vehicle – Apax Partners, Barclays Capital, FL Group, MidOcean Partners, Rianta Capital, Mountain Capital and Kingsbridge Capital Advisors Limited.