Kirkland & Ellis has expanded its Hong Kong practice by hiring restructuring partner Neil McDonald from Hogan Lovells, where he was the firm’s Asia restructuring and insolvency head.

McDonald advises on matters of financial distress including consensual workouts, shareholder disputes, liquidations, receiverships, litigation and acquisition of distressed business and assets.

He has acted for financial institutions, insolvency appointment holders, turnaround management firms, hedge funds and private equity firms.

McDonald recently advised the Steering Committee of bondholders on a default on $1.8 billion of bonds issued by Sino-Forest Corporation, and advised liquidators of Titan Investment Limited on a $300 million distressed-asset sale.

“Neil is a pre-eminent restructuring lawyer in Asia, widely recognized for his expertise in a variety of financial distress matters,” said Jeffrey Hammes, chairman of K&E’s Global Management Executive Committee, in a statement.

McDonald’s hire means Kirkland & Ellis now has 22 partners in its Hong Kong office.