Simpson Thacher Adds Prominent Real Estate Finance Partner
13.5.2022 08:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP today announced that James Esterkin will rejoin the Real Estate Practice as a Partner in the Firm’s London office.
James advises private equity sponsors and other investors in connection with the financing of U.K. and European real estate and related assets. He specializes in complex real estate acquisition and development financing, non-performing loan financing arrangements and the restructuring of real estate-related secured debt.
“We are very pleased to welcome James back to our team in London,” said Alden Millard, Chair of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Committee. “James has a unique blend of skills across the real estate sector with experience in all sub-real estate asset classes and European geographies that will be of tremendous value to our clients.”
For nearly 45 years, Simpson Thacher’s London office has advised clients on a wide range of transactions and legal matters throughout Europe. With approximately 185 attorneys, the office offers a team of English and U.S.-trained lawyers advising clients on a broad array of corporate transactions and legal disputes. The Firm’s London Real Estate Practice regularly advises on some of the largest and most complex matters throughout Europe. Recent work includes representing Blackstone Real Estate Partners in connection with nearly all of their financings in the region, across more than 20 jurisdictions and all real estate subsectors, as well as other real estate sponsors, including KKR and Apollo, on almost all of their European sponsor-side real estate finance work. Among its many highlights, the Firm recently advised Blackstone on its €21 billion recapitalization of Mileway—the largest-ever private real estate transaction.
“James will be an excellent addition to our team,” said Tom Lloyd, who leads the Firm’s Real Estate Finance team in the London office. “His extensive experience advising private equity sponsors for almost his entire career will enhance the offerings of our growing real estate finance practice.”
London office Managing Partner Jason Glover noted, “James has established himself as a prominent advisor to an impressive roster of real estate sponsors. He is an exceptional match for our real estate finance capabilities in London.”
“Simpson Thacher is renowned for providing outstanding, innovative advice to the world’s most sophisticated sponsors in the real estate sector,” said James. “I’m thrilled to be returning to the Firm and am excited to further push forward the growth of the Real Estate Finance team in London.”
James was previously a Partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, beginning in 2017. Prior to that, he worked on Simpson Thacher’s London Real Estate team as an Associate from 2013 to 2017. He received his LPC, with distinction, and an LL.M. in International Legal Practice from University of Law, London, and his LL.B. in Law from University of Nottingham. James received a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from University of Westminster.
ABOUT SIMPSON THACHER
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP (www.simpsonthacher.com) is one of the world’s leading international law firms. The Firm was established in 1884 and has more than 1,000 lawyers. Headquartered in New York with offices in Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Tokyo and Washington, D.C., the Firm provides coordinated legal advice and transactional capability to clients around the globe.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220512006086/en/
Contact information
Caroline Fatchett
Assoc. Director, Communications
mediainquiries@stblaw.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Swedish Court Further Reschedules Delivery of Judgment in PriceRunner Vs Google Antitrust Case24.6.2026 21:55:00 EEST | Press release
Klarna Group plc (NYSE: KLAR) wishes to update investors that the Patent and Market Court in Stockholm, Sweden (Patent- och marknadsdomstolen) has again postponed publication of its judgment in the antitrust damages proceedings brought by PriceRunner, a Klarna subsidiary, against Google. The Court has rescheduled publication of its judgment from June 26, 2026 to July 1, 2026 at 13:00 CET. As with the Court's two previous notifications, the rescheduling is a procedural decision by the Court and relates solely to the timing of the judgment delivery. In its notification, the Court cited high workload as the reason for needing additional time to finalize the judgment. No inference about the outcome should be drawn from it. Important Notice The outcome of the proceedings is inherently uncertain. No assurance can be given that PriceRunner will succeed on liability or quantum. Any award would be subject to appeal by Google, to sharing arrangements with former PriceRunner shareholders and Klar
Vertex Energy Announces 6,000 bpd Group III Base Oil Expansion Project24.6.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
Vertex Energy, Inc. (“Vertex” or the “Company”) today announced it is advancing a project at its Mobile, Alabama refinery to produce crude-derived conventional Group III base oils through the Company’s existing hydrocracker and related processing infrastructure, providing lubricant manufacturers and blenders with an additional domestic source of high-quality Group III supply. The project is designed to add an incremental 6,000 barrels per day of conventional Group III production capacity and support production of 4 cSt, 6 cSt, and 8 cSt Group III base oils using an existing crude-derived hydrocracked vacuum gas oil stream produced at the Company’s Mobile, Alabama refinery. Combined with the Company’s existing re-refined Group III base oil production, this additional capacity is expected to make Vertex the leading Group III producer in North America. Vertex has completed preliminary design work and has procured a high-pressure lubricants hydrotreating unit. The Company plans to start pr
Taktile Secures $110M in Goldman Sachs-led Series C to Power AI Transformation in Financial Institutions24.6.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
Taktile, the leader in AI transformation for financial institutions, today announced its $110 million Series C fundraise. Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the round, with participation from Balderton Capital, Index Ventures, Tiger Global, Y Combinator, and Dig Ventures. Taktile Fast Facts Taktile enables banks and insurers to transform into AI-native organizations that are increasingly powered by autonomous agents. Demand for Taktile accelerated in 2025, as AI models became capable of automating high-stakes decisions that previously required hours of manual work—from underwriting business loans and assessing claims to catching financial crime. Customers automate and optimize decisions with Taktile by combining its financial services expertise and product built for sector-specific AI use cases. One of the world’s largest insurers is running multiple use cases on Taktile, with projected cost efficiencies of over $90M in claims processing alone. Taktile’s team has a proven
New MetLife Study Reveals a 72% “Confidence Gap” in Ability to Recover from Life's Setbacks24.6.2026 16:25:00 EEST | Press release
A new multinational study from MetLife reveals a striking “confidence gap”: while most adults describe themselves as resilient, their confidence drops by 72% when faced with real-life setbacks. The Confident Pathways Report, conducted across the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Mexico, was designed to better understand how confidence is built and sustained throughout life. The findings underscore the role of opportunity, preparedness, and support in building confidence - factors that help people navigate uncertainty, recover from setbacks and pursue their goals. At a time when soccer is bringing people and communities together around the world, the findings also highlight how early childhood experiences such as sports, education, and mentorship can help foster resilience and gain confidence from a young age. Key findings across the four countries surveyed include: Confidence drops by 72% when adults consider their ability to recover from setbacks. Respondents were far more lik
StatLab Launches CytoPath Disc, Advancing Standardized Cell Block Preparation Worldwide24.6.2026 16:08:00 EEST | Press release
StatLab Medical Products, a leading global developer and manufacturer of pathology supplies and equipment, today announced the global launch of the CytoPath Disc, an innovative cell block preparation technology designed to standardize and simplify cell block preparation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260624368623/en/ Developed as an alternative to traditional cell block methods, which convert concentrated cells suspended in fluid into a paraffin-embedded format for slide-based evaluation, the patent‑pending CytoPath Disc offers a more streamlined and efficient approach. The CytoPath Disc absorbs concentrated cells within a simple, sponge-like matrix, which is then processed, embedded, stained, and sectioned using standard histology workflows. Traditional cell block preparation methods often present challenges in achieving consistent results due to complex procedures, as well as the need for additional equipm
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom