I had training offers from a couple of Magic Circle firms, but I chose SJ Berwin because at that time they were at the forefront of private equity – it was a dynamic firm then. On qualification I wanted to be a finance lawyer and felt I would have got strong technical training in a firm like Freshfields.
I moved to Kirkland as a fourth year to develop business. I felt there would be more freedom to develop client-winning skills as well as doing deals. I am happy with my choices. It wasn’t a conscious decision that private equity would be such a prominent area – I’ve enjoyed a lot of luck.
Kirkland is entrepreneurial. We are a firm of hustlers, we go out and win business, and don’t sit there and wait and be passive, but be proactive and entrepreneurial, and this feeds all the way down.
My parents worked very hard and came from very humble origins; they had a newsagents in the City. I went to the City of London School for Boys and that was a big investment for them. At home, there was a very strong work ethic and, being first generation immigrants, there was an expectation that I would be successful and pay back my school fees (plus interest)! If I turned up and said I wanted to be a writer it would have been an issue.
K&E’s aggressive reputation is a bit of a cliché. If firms are concerned about losing partners to K&E, they’re not going to say: ‘You will earn lots of money and it’s a great place to work,’ so it’s the obvious line of attack.
The clients are my favourite part of the job. These people are of a similar age to me and are incredibly clever. I get treated like a really close and trusted adviser. I get asked for my opinions – it’s more than just feeling like I’m there to write the contract and get the deal done. That really incentivises you as a lawyer. When working at Freshfields in structured finance, I really felt like I was a lawyer and didn’t really get into the business as much. I don’t mind picking up the phone on a Saturday or hopping on a conference call on holiday because I feel very invested.
I do worry about losing clients. I don’t sit here and think we will get hired again. My assumption is that won’t necessarily be the case – we have to do a phenomenal job.
Yankee loans are cross-pollinating English law deals. The US financing markets tend to be more evolved on certain points than in Europe. So even on the deals that are not New York law-governed, the developments in documentation in the US are what private equity sponsors in Europe want access to. Also, there are a lot more alternative sources of funding now available, especially in the mid-market.
I work a lot. I live ten minutes away from the office, which is helpful. My wife has just got used to it, but it has got better because when I first joined there were just 15 of us. If you want to be successful in a US firm within private equity, a work/life balance is not such a realistic concept, but the trade I’m hoping for is that I’m going to work really hard and then retire early!
One of the reasons why people like coming to K&E as opposed to some of the Magic Circle firms that don’t always make up their talent is that there is a clear career progression here.
Describe myself? Driven, ambitious, fun and flamboyant, super-committed to being successful. It’s not as if I’m curing cancer or doing something altruistic. I am probably pretty difficult to work for because I drive people really hard. But I don’t get people to do what I wouldn’t be willing to do in terms of hours and work. There is no question of the team being here on a crazy deal on a Sunday and I wouldn’t be.
My biggest influence outside law is my wife, Zoe. She’s incredibly supportive and grounded and her work at Great Ormond Street has given me more perspective on what a bad day really means. She is the positive karmic balance in my life.
Favourite lawyer to work with? It has to be Stephen Lucas (and that’s why we hired him!). His energy, intellect and enthusiasm are unbelievable.
The most I have spent on a suit isn’t that bad – £2,000 or something. But I do have good suits. I don’t like bad suits. I live in Shoreditch and people around there are a little bit more individualistic and I really like that. I am not going to conform and we are not expected to do that here. We are expected to perform and if we are individuals then that is encouraged.
I have worn some really bad suits to meetings. We were doing a big restructuring for Apollo. It was summer and I turned up in a purple linen suit. It was a total lack of judgement. My kids hate it because I really like python shoes. And they have become really up for saving the animals. My style with shoes is a little bit African dictator. When I go to the States they say: ‘Don’t mind Neel, he’s European,’ because over there, there are certain assumptions about long hair and python.
My career advice is: work hard but don’t take yourself too seriously. The people that have been successful here have been those that bring something slightly different to the table. We like individuals.
In five years I see myself on a beach, retired, doing yoga – lots of shopping, cricket and champagne – but will more likely be reading a loan document in my office.
Neel Sachdev is a finance partner at Kirkland & Ellis
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk