Greenberg Traurig has hired two private equity shareholders in its Chicago office, with Neal Loughery joining from Kirkland & Ellis and Curt Ostosh arriving from Sidley Austin, in a targeted expansion of the firm’s Private Equity Practice that draws directly from two of the most competitive Am Law 100 platforms in leveraged finance and M&A.
Loughery brings a debt finance focus to Greenberg Traurig, having advised private equity sponsors, portfolio companies and lenders on leveraged buyouts, refinancings and subscription line financings at Kirkland & Ellis.
Ostosh, who spent several years at Ropes & Gray before moving to Sidley Austin, focuses on complex PE transactions including leveraged buyouts, minority investments, take-private transactions and add-on acquisitions. He also brings direct client-side experience, having completed a secondment with a major private equity sponsor and held corporate development and treasury roles at a Fortune 100 company — a combination that positions him to advise sponsors on operational as well as transactional matters.
Peter H. Lieberman, Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Private Equity Practice, confirmed the additions build on the hiring of Francesco Castaldi and Robert Graham in the same Chicago office last fall, signalling a sustained build-out of the firm’s PE capability in the Midwest market. The combined debt finance and M&A specialisms of Loughery and Ostosh are designed to provide sponsors with end-to-end transaction support across the private equity lifecycle — from financing structure through to exit.
The lateral moves from Kirkland and Sidley are notable in the context of private equity legal market dynamics. Kirkland & Ellis has built the largest PE practice in global law by revenue and continues to attract and retain lawyers across its leveraged finance and sponsor coverage groups. Sidley Austin has similarly invested heavily in private equity and M&A capability across its US offices. Greenberg Traurig’s ability to recruit from both platforms simultaneously reflects the firm’s growing position as an alternative destination for PE specialists seeking broader transactional scope.
For law firm management and legal recruiters monitoring the Am Law 100 lateral market, the pattern of Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago PE build — four named additions in under twelve months including two from top-tier competitor firms — illustrates the sustained pressure on mid-tier Am Law 100 firms to acquire specialist talent rather than develop it organically. Quinn Emanuel, Latham & Watkins and White & Case have each pursued similar targeted PE lateral strategies in Chicago and New York, and the competition for finance-literate PE lawyers with sponsor relationships is expected to intensify through the remainder of 2026 as deal activity recovers.