Max Klupchak Latham & Watkins LLP has grown its mergers and acquisitions and private equity practice in the Lonestar State with the addition of the longtime general counsel for private equity firm The Sterling Group, the firm said Monday.

Max Klupchak has joined Latham as a partner, based in the firm's Houston office, after spending the last decade in-house, the firm said.

In his practice, Klupchak advises private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies on leveraged buyouts, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and minority investments, the firm said. He has a particular focus on the industrials, manufacturing, distribution and business services sectors.

"Latham has an extraordinary global platform that is uniquely positioned to advise clients on the full lifecycle of matters," Klupchak told Law360 Pulse in a Monday email. "The firm's geographic reach, industry expertise and depth of practice are unmatched, which I learned during my many years working alongside the firm as a client — and the firm's deeply rooted Houston team delivers the power of that global platform."

Klupchak joins Latham from The Sterling Group, a Texas-based middle-market private equity firm, where he was general counsel and oversaw all legal aspects of the firm's growth and operations, according to Latham.

There, Klupchak also advised on M&A and was responsible for fund, general partner, compliance and portfolio matters, the law firm said.

"Max is a dynamic lawyer with a deep understanding of the private equity ecosystem in Texas and throughout the U.S., and we are thrilled to welcome him to the firm," Nick Dhesi, the office managing partner of Latham's Houston office, said in the firm's Monday statement. "His experience with middle-market deals and the industrials and manufacturing sectors, in particular, enhances our leading private equity practice not only in Texas, but across the firm."

Before moving in-house in 2015, Klupchak worked in private practice as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LLP for a year, his LinkedIn profile shows. He began his career as a summer associate and later associate at Ropes & Gray LLP, where he worked from 2009 to 2014.

Klupchak earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"We've been adding tremendous talent to our global M&A and private equity practice, and Max is a continuation of this trend. His time spent as an in-house private equity lawyer gives him a unique perspective on the day-to-day legal and business considerations in the private capital space that will be an asset to our platform," Alex Kelly, the global co-chair of the firm's M&A and private equity practice, said in the statement. "As private equity transactions become increasingly complex and competitive, Max's commercial insight and operational experience will help our clients seize opportunities and achieve their most ambitious goals."