Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton is adding a seven-year veteran from Kirkland & Ellis to its Chicago ranks as the firm grapples with a growing volume of bankruptcy work.

A number of industries and businesses Sheppard Mullin lawyers work with were showing signs of distress even before COVID-19 began ravaging the country, said Edward Tillinghast, the chair of the firm’s finance and bankruptcy practice.