Kirkland & Ellis announced on Tuesday the hiring of 13 litigation partners nationwide from King & Spalding who specialize in “complex, multidistrict litigation and high-stakes trials” — including a few in Texas, most notably veteran trial lawyer Kim Bueno in Austin.
The Texas lawyers making the move to Kirkland with Bueno are the three product liability and mass tort trial lawyers who lateraled with her to King & Spalding from Butler Snow in September: Amy Pepke (Houston), Chris Cowan (Austin) and Tara Blake (Houston).
Bueno sat down with The Texas Lawbook’s Krista Torralva earlier this year to share her pretrial rituals, insights and more. Some of her big-name clients include Monsanto and Johnson & Johnson.
The nationwide moves for Kirkland represent the latest in a series of prominent additions to its litigation department. According to the release, Kirkland has added over 100 litigators so far this year, with its “litigation team winning 12 significant trials during the same period.”
“Following another year of significant growth, we have continued the strong momentum for Kirkland’s litigation practice in 2025, both in terms of results and in the world-class talent we have brought on board,” said Andrew Kassof, a member of Kirkland’s Executive Committee, in the release. “We are thrilled to welcome this incredible team of partners to the Firm.”
AREAS OF FOCUS
Bueno defends clients in jury trials and multidistrict litigation, as well as high-stakes personal injury actions and complex commercial litigation, including pharmaceutical and medical device trials and other matters involving mass torts.
EDUCATION
Undergraduate: Southern Methodist University (BA)
Law school: University of Texas (JD, 2008)