Skaddens bolsters Silicon Valley office with Dewey Ballantine hire

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has appointed an M&A partner to bolster its Silicon Valley presence.

Marc Packer is joining the Palo Alto practice from the New York office of Dewey Ballantine.

Packer began his career in Skaddens' New York office in 1985 where he worked on a number of high-profile deals, including the $26bn (£18.3bn) RJR Nabisco transaction where he acted for a special committee of the consumer products company.

But in 1995 he moved first to the Prague and then to the New York office of Dewey Ballantine. Now he is moving back to Skaddens, where he will have particular responsibility for cross-border transactions in the M&A department.

"He brings the kind of expertise we need to Silicon Valley," says the managing partner of Skaddens' Palo Alto office Ken King. "We know him to be terrific from past experience."

King says that working for Skaddens' Palo Alto office offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to its continual expansion. The office has grown from five lawyers to 45 in just two years, and Packer will bring the number of partners to eight.

King says: "Silicon Valley is an area of rapid growth, and as a firm we're very strong in M&A. We've hired Packer because we want the capability to service fully the needs of our clients."