Holland & Knight has added Kristie Shu as a partner in its Century City office, expanding the law firm’s mergers and acquisitions and private equity capabilities in Southern California.
Shu joins Holland & Knight from Kirkland & Ellis, where she was a partner. Her practice focuses on private equity, M&A and corporate governance, with clients including buyers, sellers, private equity funds and portfolio companies.
Her transactional experience spans mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, carve-outs, joint ventures, restructurings and other complex strategic transactions.
Shu will also become a member of Holland & Knight’s Legal Services Transactions Team, which advises on management services organization structures, alternative business structures, regulatory compliance and other issues involving law firm operations.
The appointment comes as Holland & Knight continues adding transactional lawyers across several U.S. markets.
Shu is one of six recent additions to the firm’s legal services team, following partners David Jargiello in San Francisco, Jessica Berkowitz in Dallas, Michael Zhang in Chicago and Courtney Miller in Washington, D.C., as well as associate Sam Schaffer in Miami.
Her arrival in Southern California also follows the addition of corporate and M&A partner Jean Lee in Newport Beach.
Holland & Knight said league tables ranked it the second-most-active law firm for middle-market M&A and private equity during the first half of 2026.
The firm has also recently been recognized as Private Equity Law Firm of the Year by Global M&A Network and M&A Law Firm of the Year by M&A Advisor. Its transactional practice regularly appears in rankings published by Bloomberg, LSEG, Mergermarket, PitchBook and The Deal.
Shu earned her J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and her B.A. from Claremont McKenna College.
KEY QUOTES:
“Kristie’s deep training and technical skills in private equity M&A strengthen our ability to handle complex transactions. Her experience in middle-market and upper-middle-market transactions is increasingly valuable to our clients, and she will be an immediate contributor to our growing platform.”
Stephen Dietrich, Practice Group Leader For Holland & Knight’s Corporate Central/West Group
“The Firm has one of the most active M&A and private equity practices in the world, with deep industry experience in a multitude of sectors, including healthcare, tech, real estate and consumer products.”
Kristie Shu, Partner At Holland & Knight
