Paul Hastings has announced the hiring of Ismael Duran, a finance partner from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Duran joins Paul Hastings’ banking and finance and private credit practices, bringing with him a wealth of experience advising major financial institutions such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Barclays. His recent work includes guiding JPMorgan in providing up to $5.4 billion in committed financing for II-VI Incorporated’s Coherent acquisition and steering Citi in debt financing for Vertiv’s $1.8 billion acquisition of E&I Engineering Group.

Duran’s move comes as Paul Hastings continues to expand its finance roster. The firm has been actively hiring finance partners, including a team of 11 from King & Spalding and eight energy-focused finance partners from Vinson & Elkins. Duran’s expertise in complex bank-syndicated leveraged financings and commercial lending transactions will further enhance Paul Hastings’ capabilities in these areas.

The private credit market is expected to reach $2.2 trillion by 2027, with firms seeking avenues to deploy the raised capital. Duran noted that while fundraising has been robust, the deployment of capital is still catching up. This underscores the ongoing demand for legal services in the finance sector.

Paul Hastings’ strategic hiring of Duran underscores its commitment to building a strong finance practice, leveraging synergies with other practices to better serve clients and reinforce existing relationships with major financial institutions.