Legal Business Magazine

Brand new analysis from Legal Business is now online at www.legalbusiness.co.uk, including our ESG report, which looks at how the top firms are responding as ESG becomes a business fundamental. This edition also highlights how City lawyers are reconciling mental health considerations with long and unpredictable hours, and how the industry still needs to change; takes a look at what Gen Z lawyers want from their careers and how they’re changing the profession; reports on the MENA region, speaking to local players and international firms about the market; an interview with Brodies LLP's Nick Scott for our Life During Law feature + much more. Available with your subscription via web, app and PDF: www.legalbusiness.co.uk #legalbusiness #law #lawyers #ESG #MENA

"You have to be really comfortable being uncomfortable; being able to be honest and say ‘I don’t know yet, but let’s work it through’. There is not a day where you know everything." This week Legal Business unveiled our first-ever Private Equity Elite, which highlights 24 of the top London-based lawyers at private equity houses. Here, Rachel Thompson, who has spent nearly 15 years at Bridgepoint, becoming group general counsel in 2021, discusses: - how the skillset that PE houses now want for their GCs has changed; - 'supercharging' Bridgepoint's credit business; and - being seen as a business partner rather than a deal preventer. https://lnkd.in/dMptPvvj #PrivateEquity

Katherine Brody, EMEA GC at California-based private equity firm Silver Lake, is one of the 24 lawyers identified by Legal Business as being among the top London-based in-house PE lawyers in our first-ever Private Equity Elite, which was published this week after months of research. In this Q&A, she looks back at some of the most rewarding deals she’s worked on, discusses the unique opportunities that a career in #PrivateEquity offers, and offers her take on how the industry is positioned to effect positive change in gender diversity. The full Private Equity Elite is here - https://lnkd.in/ewkT9RT8 - stay tuned for more Q&As on LinkedIn throughout next week https://lnkd.in/eVJPubz7

'It’s been a focus for me as a working mum to make it possible for other working mums to be on my team, and be supported when they are away on or returning from maternity leave. We show them that their role is valued, that we want them to come back.' Apollo Global Management, Inc. international GC Seda Yalcinkaya is one of the 24 lawyers identified by Legal Business Magazine as the best-regarded London-based in-house lawyers in private equity, and she is also one of a number of senior women in this space attempting to move the needle on female representation. In this Private Equity Elite Q&A, she discusses her efforts to improve gender diversity (both in her team and at the law firms she uses), why she started her career at Cravath, memorable deals and why she likens herself to an octopus. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/ds8pm69E #PrivateEquity

‘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.’ The next Private Equity Elite GC under the spotlight is KKR Europe general counsel Susanna Berger - in this interview, she discusses the importance of trust and relationships, the rise of regulation in private equity, and being a business partner rather than an obstacle. We’ll have more Q&As with some of the most respected names in PE over the coming days - link to the full list in the comments. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/erM4cDvZ https://lnkd.in/ewkT9RT8

‘Clients should be more deliberate in supporting rising female talent in the firms that they work with – whether that’s supporting them through the family-building years, or championing them for partnership or management roles.’ Despite private equity’s reputation as a male-dominated arena - a McKinsey report published last year suggested that, at the current rate of progress, it could take more than six decades to reach gender parity at MD level - a select band of influential women have risen to the helm of the in-house legal teams at trophy buyout clients. And women make up 11 of the 24 lawyers in the Private Equity Elite, which Legal Business unveiled this week after months of discussions with leading London partners and in-house lawyers. As well as pushing to improve diversity in their own teams, these female GCs are also increasingly holding their law firms to account – as Apollo Global Management, Inc. international GC Seda Yalcinkaya recounts: ‘I have called up law firms and asked why X isn’t a partner yet – and am happy that I’ve had success!’ For this feature, Georgina Stanley spoke to some of the most respected female lawyers in private equity – KKR Europe GC Susanna Berger, Bridgepoint group GC Rachel Thompson, The Carlyle Group EMEA head Heather Mitchell and European GC Anna-Louise Oliver, Apollo’s Yalçinkaya and former CVC GC Lauren Livingston - about culture, careers and challenging stereotypes. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/ebyzdbTq

'We were working on a very complex transaction - the negotiations were old school, in-person, and we ended up sitting in a football stadium, overlooking the pitch while negotiating the terms of the deal for days in a row.' In the second of our Private Equity Elite Q&As, Cinven general counsel Babett Carrier talks about her career trajectory to date, how she empowers her team, managing 200 internal clients, and her passion for interior design. Stay tuned for more Q&As with some of the most senior names in private equity over the coming days - link to the full list in the comments. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/eFWc4iUx https://lnkd.in/ewkT9RT8

'It’s a completely different job to the one that I started as a transactional lawyer. Then, I was sitting with the deal team, shadowing them and supporting transactions, but that’s only 5% of my time now. From fundraisings, strategic projects, compliance to regulation – there’s a bit of everything needed in your skillset.’ Private equity has come a long way in London since the pioneering days of firms like 3i Group plc, CVC and Permira, with US heavyweights like KKR, Blackstone and The Carlyle Group piling in to the capital. But while in-house legal teams at private equity firms have grown rapidly in terms of both headcount and geographic reach, the way they operate has also been completely transformed. In this in-depth feature, part of our Private Equity Elite coverage, some of the City’s top private equity lawyers, from both private practice and in-house, look back on the extraordinary ascent of private capital and how the GC role at PE firms has evolved. Thanks to a star-studded line-up of contributors - David Higgins of Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates' Richard Youle, Alex Woodward of Linklaters, KKR's Susanna Berger, ex-CVC GC Lauren Livingston, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's Melanie Sanchez, Carlyle's Heather Mitchell, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer private capital partner Victoria Sigeti, Apollo Global Management, Inc.'s Seda Yalcinkaya, Bridgepoint's GC Rachel Thompson, Vitruvian Partners GC Chris Bulger, Milbank LLP London private equity co-heads Jordan Simpson and Andrej Wolf and Bain Capital Europe GC Will Rosen. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/e_XYCVMs

Today Legal Business unveiled the Private Equity Elite - the definitive list of the top London-based in-house lawyers working in PE and private credit. Over the next two weeks, we'll be turning the spotlight on some of the biggest names on the list, providing unique insight into their career journeys and how they made it to the top. Here, Heather Mitchell - chief risk officer, head of EMEA and global general counsel for Investments at The Carlyle Group - discusses maintaining a sense of humour, playing in the sandbox, and how just saying ‘no’ is out of the question when managing deals. Stay tuned for more profiles in the coming days. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/eAWEgs8N

The private equity industry has changed massively in recent years, with PE houses morphing into massive, multi-asset private capital firms - so what does it take to run the legal team at one of these hugely influential businesses? After months of discussions with private equity and leveraged finance partners at the top law firms in London, as well as a host of in-house lawyers, Legal Business has come up with the definitive list of the leading London-based private equity GCs - the Private Equity Elite. We'll be rolling out our extended coverage of this in the coming days, including Q&As with all the major players, but for starters, here are the 24 who made the grade. You can access more details via the links in the comments. Babett Carrier, GC, Cinven Susanna Berger, GC for Europe, KKR Rachel Thompson, group GC, Bridgepoint Melanie Sanchez, global GC, investments, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Leigh Partridge, head of legal (Europe), CPP Investments | Investissements RPC Katherine Brody, GC of EMEA, Silver Lake Alexandra Openshaw, GC, Montagu Andrew Stevens, GC, Inflexion Heather Mitchell, chief risk officer, head of EMEA and global GC for Investments, The Carlyle Group Jarlath Pratt, assistant GC (Europe), GIC Tom Patrick, GC, Charterhouse Mark Coker, chief legal officer, Lone Star Funds Seda Yalcinkaya, GC – International, Apollo Global Management, Inc. Will Rosen, GC (Europe private equity), Bain Capital Chris Bulger, GC, Vitruvian Partners Jonathan Pugh-Smith, GC, funds, Bregal Investments Simon Tinkler, senior legal adviser, CD&R LLP Peter Gibbs, GC, Permira Samantha McGonigle, GC, Hg Alastair Richardson, head of legal (private equity), 3i Group plc Jeremy Dennison, GC, Livingbridge Stuart Banks, European GC, Hellman & Friedman Simon Cresswell, GC, Apax Partners Daisy Raven, GC, Triton Partners Read more at: https://lnkd.in/ewkT9RT8 https://lnkd.in/erXFKyUZ