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 …
Katherine Brody – General counsel (EMEA), Silver Lake Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, 2008-14 Silver Lake, 2014-present Silver Lake turned me into a private equity lawyer. Before that I was working as an M&A generalist, mostly for large corporate clients, in private practice at Skadden in London. This was a decade ago, and I …
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 …
Tom Patrick – GC, Charterhouse Year of qualification: 1999 White & Case, 2001-05 D.B. Zwirn & Co, 2005-10 Charterhouse, 2010-present Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer? I didn’t really – I originally wanted to be a journalist but once I did law, I was very keen to go in-house and get …
Leigh Partridge – Managing director, head of legal (Europe), CPP Investments Year of qualification: 2008 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 2006-17 CPP Investments | Investissements RPC, 2017-present I love the diversity of deals that come across my desk as a PE lawyer. The opportunity to learn about different sectors and businesses while still building deep relationships with …
Mark Coker – Chief legal officer, Lone Star Year of qualification: 1990 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, 1998-2008 Vinson & Elkins, 2008-15 Hudson Advisors, 2016-17 Lone Star Europe Acquisitions, 2018-present Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer? My career in private practice largely pre-dated the concept of being a private equity lawyer. My background …
Alexandra Openshaw – General counsel, Montagu Year of qualification: 2010 Macfarlanes, 2008-15 Winton Group, 2016-23 Montagu, 2023-present Why did you want to become a private equity lawyer? I was previously a funds lawyer at a private practice firm and wanted to be client-side from early on. No day is ever the same – there’s so …
Continue reading “‘In private equity, no day is ever the same’ – Montagu GC Alexandra Openshaw”
‘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
From dating apps to entertainment venues, airports to music collections, there’s almost no industry left untouched by the multitrillion-dollar private equity market. And, with these secretive organisations continuing to diversify their business into new asset classes such as infrastructure and credit, it’s an industry that is not only still changing but also still growing.
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 …
Continue reading “‘Private capital is a super creative industry’ – KKR Europe GC Susanna Berger”
