Sullivan & Cromwell (S&C) is building its first dedicated US private equity practice, hiring four partners from Kirkland & Ellis to compete for buyout work. Co-chair Scott Miller told the Financial Times' Kaye Wiggins and Sujeet Indap that private equity now represents a third of US M&A activity, stating, "We simply have to participate in that part of the market." Historically, S&C avoided buyout clients to protect relationships with Fortune 500 companies, viewing private equity as "slash-and-burn" operators. Miller said that perception is outdated and inconsistent with the firm's current strategy.

The move marks a cultural shift for S&C, which traditionally relied on homegrown talent rather than lateral hires. Miller emphasized the firm will focus on "more selective transactions" rather than rivaling the scale of Kirkland & Ellis or Latham & Watkins, offering recruits "the highest quality work." The shift reflects private equity's enormous influence on the legal industry, which previously fueled the rise of firms like Kirkland and Latham. In other news, OpenAI has held early talks with investors about a new funding round at a $1.2tn valuation ahead of a planned IPO, and a US House panel voted unanimously to hold Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black in contempt for defying subpoenas regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.