Ted M. Frankel, P.C.

Kirkland & Ellis advises THL Partners, a premier private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies, on its majority investment in YA Group, an international professional services organization providing forensic consulting, engineering, risk mitigation and related services. The partnership will help accelerate YA Group’s organic growth through investments in its core service areas and support opportunities to expand its platform through strategic acquisitions. YA’s management, employees and current capital partner, CIVC Partners, will retain significant ownership positions in the company. This transaction is expected to close in the fall of 2024. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team is led by corporate partners John Wilkes and Ted Frankel and associates Zoe Quick, Sasha Timakova and Taylor Petersen; and tax partners Dean Shulman and Sehj Vather.

Aug 23

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised Once Upon a Farm, PBC, a leading baby and toddler food brand co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner, on its IPO of approximately 11 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $18.00 per share. Once Upon a Farm’s common stock began trading on the NYSE on February 6, 2026. The stock opened at $21 per share, up 16% from its initial public offering price. The shares closed on the first day of trading up 17%. Read Once Upon a Farm’s press release The Kirkland team included capital markets lawyers Bob Hayward, Bob Goedert, Ashley Sinclair, Jackson Fountain, Ana Sempertegui, Katie Conterio, Mollie Goldfarb, Grace O’Connor and Muhammad Musani; corporate lawyers Ted Frankel, Kyle McHugh and Kate Kennedy; investment funds lawyers Nicholas Hemmingsen, Jasmina Resic and Peter Gauss; executive compensation lawyers Stephen Jacobson, Stephanie Jeane and Diana Soriano; tax lawyers Sara Zablotney and Brittany Nguyen; debt finance lawyers Thomas Dobleman and Patrick Loughery; technology & IP transactions lawyers Seth Traxler, Amber Harezlak and Eliza Holland; and sustainability lawyers Abbey Raish and Menaka Nayar.

Feb 9

1 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising U.S. insurance broker AssuredPartners on its $13.45 billion acquisition by global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG). The definitive agreement was announced December 9, 2024. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2025 subject to customary regulatory approvals. The transaction will expand Gallagher’s retail middle-market property/casualty and employee benefits focus across the United States and build on new business opportunities by leveraging Gallagher’s expertise, data and analytics and expansive product offerings. AssuredPartners was founded in 2011 by GTCR, a leading private equity firm, in partnership with Jim Henderson. GTCR originally sold the Company to Apax Fund VIII in 2015, and GTCR reacquired a majority stake in partnership with Apax Fund IX in 2019. AssuredPartners now has approximately 400 offices located across the U.S., the UK and Ireland and 10,900 employees. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Ted Frankel, Chris Thomas, Kyle McHugh, Sri Kaushik, Adam Clifford, George Boden, Chris Smiciklas, Matt Nelson and Kartik Khanna; capital markets lawyer Josh Korff; tax lawyers Mike Carew and Meg Dewar; executive compensation lawyer Scott Price; antitrust & competition lawyers Matt Reilly, Norm Armstrong, Jeff Ayer and Thomas Wilson; debt finance lawyer Tom Dobleman; and technology & IP transactions lawyer Dan Lewis.

Dec 9

1 min

A Houston couple who accused a law firm and a since-dismissed Progressive unit of conspiring to share car crash victims' private information told a Texas federal court that their suit is "neither frivolous, unreasonable, nor improper" as they pushed back against the law firm's sanctions request. In a response filed Wednesday, Kelly Cook and Esther Kelley-Cook urged the court to reject Kanner & Pintaluga PA's bid for sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Kanner & Pintaluga argued in its August motion that the plaintiffs' claims are based on unverified and inadmissible hearsay. The couple, however, contended that their claims are based on firsthand experience, which is sufficient to make a plausible claim that the firm committed barratry and conspired with Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. to do so. "In demanding that plaintiffs provide all available proof to their claims, even when that proof is protected attorney work product, defendant has filed a summary judgment motion disguised as Rule 11 sanctions," the couple said. "Plaintiffs' claims are not only plausible on their face, which is sufficient at this stage, they are supported by extrinsic evidence that will be provided to the court for in camera review." Cook and Kelley-Cook filed the proposed class action in November, alleging their privacy was invaded when they received multiple calls from the law firm after their Progressive-insured vehicles were involved in crashes. The couple claimed that the firm had an agreement with Progressive that allowed it to obtain crash victims' personal information once a crash was reported. A second amended complaint filed in April asserted claims for barratry and conspiracy. Progressive was dismissed from the case with prejudice on June 10, court records show. The court subsequently dismissed with prejudice a majority of the couple's claims, including the class claims, leaving only Kelley-Cook's barratry claim, according to court filings. Cook and Kelley-Cook said Wednesday that their counsel at EKSM LLP opened an investigation into Kanner & Pintaluga's business practices in order to verify their claims before filing suit. While the results of the investigation are attorney work product and cannot be produced, they said the results will be filed for review by the judge. The couple further contended that the firm's motion merits its own Rule 11 sanctions, asserting that the impetus for the motion is to harass and intimidate Cook and Kelley-Cook and bully their counsel into prematurely revealing their trial strategy. "The motion for sanctions is absolutely meritless. We did a robust investigation prior to filing suit and are continuing to gather information," Jarrett L. Ellzey, counsel for Cook and Kelley-Cook, told Law360 in an emailed statement. "As stated in our response and motion for in camera submission, the information we gathered is protected attorney work product, which defendant knew prior to filing this harassing motion." A representative of the law firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Cook and Kelley-Cook are represented by Jarrett L. Ellzey, Tom Kherkher and Leigh S. Montgomery of EKSM LLP. Kanner & Pintaluga PA is represented by Ted C. Craig and Veronica A. Meza of GrayRobinson PA. The case is Cook et al. v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. et al., case number 4:24-cv-04423, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Sep 8

3 min

Kirkland & Ellis advised THL Partners, a premier private equity firm investing in middle market growth companies, on its majority investment in Red Nucleus, a leading provider of strategic services across research and development, medical affairs, market access and learning and development. The strategic partnership will help broaden Red Nucleus’ suite of commercialization services for its global customer base. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team included corporate lawyers Kyle McHugh, Josh Dubin, Matt Nelson, Dan O’Dea, Chris Elder and Ted Frankel; tax lawyers Sehj Vather and Chris Worek; technology & IP transactions lawyers Dan Lewis and Matt Darch; and healthcare lawyers Dennis Williams and Kate Hardey.

Oct 25

1 min