‘I’d rather have a say; I don’t want that late call on a Friday night when something has happened – I want to be in the room.’ Heather Mitchell, Carlyle
As part of our Private Equity Elite, top lawyers share their thoughts on the PE market
Embracing the uncomfortable
‘To succeed in-house, you have to be happy to pivot to a completely new area every day. You have to be really comfortable being uncomfortable.’
Rachel Thompson, partner and group general counsel, Bridgepoint
Deal rush
‘I am [also] one of those lawyers who likes the adrenaline rush of getting a deal over the line, and PE ticks that box.’
Melanie Sanchez, global general counsel, Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
The room where it happens
‘I’d rather have a say; I don’t want that late call on a Friday night when something has happened – I want to be in the room.’
Heather Mitchell, partner, chief risk officer, head of EMEA and global general counsel for Investments, Carlyle
Balancing act
‘As an in-house lawyer, you may work on four to five different transactions, plus a number of other projects. You need to be able to jump from one project to the next and identify quickly the material issues you need to focus on. You work incredibly hard.’
Babett Carrier, general counsel, Cinven
Silent witness
‘One memorable moment was being in the witness box and being asked by the other side’s barrister to read a section of my own handwritten notes – no-one could decipher what I’d written (including me).’
Tom Patrick, general counsel, Charterhouse
An octopus in the office
‘I enjoy seeing and hearing from all parts of the business – sometimes I liken myself to an octopus with many tentacles in lots of different places.’
Seda Yalçinkaya, partner and general counsel – International, Apollo Global Management
Deal shapers
‘As an in-house lawyer you are often at the table for many months, if not years, before things go to external counsel. You get to help shape the deal.’
Susanna Berger, managing director, general counsel for Europe, KKR
OMG DWF
‘The take-private of DWF was headline grabbing and justifiably so – another legally nuanced transaction in a fascinating sector that
required some “first principle” thinking with little by way of precedent to rely on.’
Alexandra Openshaw, general counsel, Montagu
Setting egos aside
‘As a woman, when asked for your opinion, sometimes you just don’t present with as much ego, which means that your judgement or opinion is given more weight.’
Anna-Louise Oliver, deputy European GC, Carlyle
At the top table
‘It’s no longer a back-office job (to the extent it ever was). It’s a role that deservedly now has a seat at the table, at the highest level within the organisation.’
Victoria Sigeti, private capital partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Mega money
‘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.’
David Higgins, London private equity partner, Kirkland & Ellis