Category: Analysis | Page 3 of 130

‘The industry has changed massively. When we started, we were working with single product mid-cap PE shops, and these have now developed into mega solo funds, handling tens of billions of dollars. We’re now working with listed clients and multi-product funds that not only have a PE business, but a credit and an infrastructure business,’ says Kirkland & Ellis London private equity partner David Higgins, on the huge changes in the private capital market.

As single strategy private equity funds have morphed into huge multi-asset private capital firms and alternative asset managers over the last 10-15 years, the role of the lawyers working with them has also changed beyond recognition. Continue reading “Elite: The rise of the in-house lawyer in private capital”

‘No-one should be under any illusion that the hours are fewer, or the work less demanding. You don’t have the luxury of working on just one thing; you’re juggling multiple deals, multiple fund formations and perhaps litigation,’ says Carlyle partner, chief risk officer, head of EMEA and global general counsel (GC) for Investments Heather Mitchell of the reality of succeeding in the notoriously tough, deal-driven world of private capital.

If anyone should know about juggling, it’s Mitchell, who currently holds not just one role at the $425bn AUM organisation but three – splitting her time between global GC and chief risk officer for the investment business, as well as overall head of Carlyle EMEA. Continue reading “‘I’ve called firms and asked why someone isn’t a partner yet’ – the female GCs shaking up PE”

What does it take to run the legal team in one of the most profitable deal shops in the world? After months of discussions with private equity and leveraged finance partners at the leading law firms in London as well as a host of in-house lawyers, Legal Business has come up with the definitive list of the top London-based private equity GCs, with 24 making the grade.

Continue reading “The Private Equity Elite: the top general counsel in PE”

Susanna Berger – Managing director, general counsel for Europe, KKR & Co

Year of qualification: 2002
University of Chicago Law School, 1997-98
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, 2000-06
Avenue Capital Management, 2006-08
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, 2008
KKR & Co, 2009-present

I joined KKR 15 years ago. At that point the team consisted of about 40 people focused purely on private equity. Fast forward and there’s been a huge shift – today we are an alternative asset manager; we cover multiple asset classes including infrastructure, real estate and credit. Continue reading “‘Private capital is a super creative industry’ – KKR Europe GC Susanna Berger”

Jeremy Dennison – General counsel, Livingbridge

Year of qualification: 2009
Travers Smith, 2007-12
Goodwin Procter, 2012-14
MUSTO, 2014-15
Travers Smith, 2015-18
Livingbridge, 2018-present

Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer?

My first exposure to private equity was during my training contract at Travers Smith, which has one of the leading mid-market private equity practices in the City. I was working with an amazing team of lawyers and loved the buzz of the deal and the elegance of the PE model. I knew early on that this was the area of law I wanted to focus on. Continue reading “‘Creating value and preventing value destruction are two sides of the same coin’ – Livingbridge GC Jeremy Dennison”

Rachel Thompson – Partner and group general counsel, Bridgepoint

Year of qualification: 2007
Clifford Chance, 2005-09
Bridgepoint, 2010-present

It was never really a conscious decision to go in-house; I came on secondment from Clifford Chance two years after qualification, when Bridgepoint had just hired [former Travers Smith private equity head] Charlie Barter as its first GC. It was right back at the start of PE houses getting more sophisticated in terms of their in-house legal functions. Continue reading “‘My time on non-legal is the same as my time on legal’ – Bridgepoint GC Rachel Thompson”

Melanie Sanchez – Global general counsel, investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan

Clayton Utz, 2005-06
Blake, Cassels & Graydon, 2006-14
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, 2014-present

I ended up working on private equity deals not by design, but rather by chance. I started out my career in Australia as a financing lawyer and when I moved to Canada I transitioned to general corporate work. Over time my practice evolved to support primarily US private equity clients investing into the mid-market in Canada. Since moving in-house I have had the opportunity to support our Ontario Teachers’ private equity team globally, as well as our other asset classes. Continue reading “‘Working in private markets keeps you on your toes’ – Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan’s Melanie Sanchez”