Michael Torkin has joined Linklaters as a partner in its New York office, the firm said. Torkin founded Simpson Thacher's private capital and special situations investment group, which advises investors and lenders on providing money to distressed companies.

The hire "is a significant step toward enhancing our restructuring practice as we continue to expand our presence in the U.S.," Danelle Le Cren, who leads Linklaters' U.S. banking group, said in a statement.

Among its recent U.S. hires, Linklaters in January added a six-lawyer dealmaking team from Shearman & Sterling led by George Casey, who was a global managing partner at Shearman and former corporate group leader. Shearman merged with UK-founded Allen & Overy in May.

Torkin's bankruptcy clients have included natural gas producer Arsenal Resources Development LLC, which filed for bankruptcy twice in 2019, and photography giant Eastman Kodak Company.

Torkin was also part of a Simpson Thacher team representing an Israeli Jewish woman in a 2023 lawsuit against Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Carnegie graduate, Yael Canaan, said she "endured a cruel campaign of antisemitic abuse" by the school's faculty and administration. CMU has denied the allegations.

A Simpson Thacher spokesperson said the firm wished Torkin well.

Linklaters in July said its revenue grew by 10% to a record high of 2.1 billion pounds ($2.69 billion) in its financial year ending April 30. It was buoyed by growth in the U.S. market, where Linklaters reported a 24% revenue increase.