Category: Analysis | Page 5 of 131

Will Rosen – GC (Europe private equity), Bain

Year of qualification: 1994
Weil Gotshal & Manges, 1996-2007
DLA Piper, 2008-11
Ropes & Gray, 2011-22
Bain Capital, 2022-present

What made you decide to make the switch in-house? And how have you found the change?

After a very enjoyable and fulfilling, decade-long career with Ropes & Gray – first as partner and then as London managing partner – and following an inspiring year-long secondment to Bain Capital, I was asked to stay on as general counsel for the firm’s European private equity business. I had worked with Bain for many years at Ropes, so I had a good familiarity with and understanding of its business. During this time and my secondment, I easily connected with the firm’s culture and values, I enjoyed having a wide range of subjects to cover, and I developed strong relationships with the team. While I loved working in private practice, I thought this was a unique opportunity to join a team that identifies complex opportunities to create exceptional outcomes for its companies, employees, and communities.

What has been the biggest difference compared with private practice?

The biggest differences are the operating model and functional approach. For the former, I was one of a large team focused on private equity transactional work. Now, I am part of a smaller team that covers a much broader set of responsibilities from deal transactions across multiple industry verticals to fund raising, portfolio company matters, and regulatory affairs, among other things.

What are the key skills needed for working in-house compared with private practice?

The skills needed for any career in the legal profession are common: a keen sense of curiosity, strong analytical and written skills, concentrated attention to detail, and an ability to remain calm and adaptable to circumstances. However, when working in-house – due to a wider portfolio of responsibilities – a workday can be less predictable. So, time management skills, an ability to prioritise, and understanding the needs of the business are vital.

What has been your in-house career highlight, and why?

My career highlights have been less about business transactions or work-related dealings but more about feeling personally linked to the firm’s values and purpose and connected with the team across the business globally. It is also about working with brilliant colleagues in the legal team and across the platform to deliver for the business and find the right solutions. Today, there is no shortage of highly capable asset managers but one of the things that drew me to Bain Capital is the culture and the firmwide approach to solving business challenges, partnering with people on the journey to create lasting impact.

What tips do you have for building a career in-house in private equity?

What’s important in any career is building enduring, collaborative, trustful relationships and connection with a diverse set of industry and work partners. Also, it is important to spend time to make sure you understand the business and be proactive in anticipating issues and challenges.

Go to the Private Equity Elite contents.

Chris Bulger – GC, Vitruvian Partners

Year of qualification: 2007
Slaughter and May, 2005-14
Goldman Sachs, 2014-18
Vitruvian Partners, 2018-present

Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer?

I have been involved with alternative asset managers since 2005, during the early stages of my training contract with Slaughter and May. I became very interested in funds work and private equity in particular as the industry grew and was increasingly prominent. I then noticed that the larger private equity firms were beginning to hire their first in-house lawyers, and their role seemed to me to combine the elements of private practice I really liked (such as negotiation and structuring) with a broad in-house mandate that wasn’t limited to involvement in only legal matters.

How long have you been working in-house?

I did a secondment at Goldman Sachs in 2008 shortly after qualifying. It was an extraordinary learning experience as the global financial crisis developed. After six more years at Slaughter and May, I then returned to Goldman permanently in 2014 to cover their private equity and private credit business in Europe, along with various fundraisings and firm investments.

What has been the most memorable moment of your in-house career?

A day trip to Boston to sell shares in an IPO stands out. I made the last-minute decision to fly at 8.30am and was on the plane from Heathrow at 11:30am. Having worked the entire flight on organising the logistics and paperwork (being fortunate that the wi-fi worked throughout the flight and using a copy of the Financial Times for my written notes), I was greeted at Boston Logan International Airport by a banker, lawyer, notary and driver. After signing various documents in the arrivals hall, we then made a few stops on the way to hand-deliver the required paperwork to the transfer agent, making it with an hour or so to spare. After a celebratory Sam Adams at the airport I was back home within 24 hours of departing!

Which sectors do you expect to drive activity this year?

I anticipate technology, healthcare and energy as being busy. Closer to home, I also expect to see further activity in financial services, and asset management in particular. I anticipate that traditional asset managers will continue to look to acquire alternative managers, and alternative managers will acquire managers of other products that they don’t currently offer.

Would you recommend a career working in private equity?

Absolutely – the private equity industry has matured considerably during the nearly 20 years I have been working in it. Private equity and other alternative firms are now significantly more regulated, as are their fundraisings and the transactions they undertake. But this actually provides more opportunities for lawyers to enter the industry at an earlier stage in their careers, and more paths they can then take to develop. Working at a private equity firm can also provide more opportunities for lawyers to get involved in other areas (such as HR, operations and tax), than might be the case with other in-house roles. The industry continues to innovate as well, such as on sources of capital for fundraisings and the structure and type of investments.

Go to the Private Equity Elite contents.

Jonathan Pugh-Smith – GC, funds, Bregal Investments

Year of qualification: 2010
Berwin Leighton Paisner, 2008-11
International Justice Mission, 2011-12
Berwin Leighton Paisner, 2012-13
Bregal Investments, 2013-present

Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer?

To be honest, I did not specifically set out to become a private equity lawyer. I have always sought out opportunities in my career where I am valued, where I can continue to grow and learn, that are dynamic and where I feel I can make a difference. Across the last ten years of working in private equity these boxes have more often than not been ticked across the board. Continue reading “‘You are working with some of the sharpest minds on the planet’ – Bregal Investments funds GC Jonathan Pugh-Smith”

Babett Carrier – General counsel, Cinven

Shearman & Sterling, 1996-2012
Arma Partners, 2013-14
Cinven, 2015-present

I come from a family of lawyers. My father was a lawyer, my uncle was a judge, so there was maybe some bias. What I like about the law is that it is very analytical and it rewards logic. You are trained to analyse any issues in a systematic way. Continue reading “‘A PE firm is one of the most interesting places for an in-house lawyer’ – Cinven GC Babett Carrier”

Simon Tinkler – Senior legal adviser, CD&R

Year of qualification: 1993
Clifford Chance, 1995-2022
CD&R, 2022-present

Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer?

I loved the intersection between the law and the real world. On each transaction you get to understand a new business or sector, and then to think about the many and varied legal issues that impact on it. I also really enjoy the fact it is a real team effort, both internally and externally; as a private equity lawyer you are absolutely core to that team.  Continue reading “‘Private equity must be prepared to explain the benefits it brings’ – CD&R’s Simon Tinkler”

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”