This year's Private Equity Rising Stars list serves to highlight the best of the up-and-coming talents within the U.K. and European legal industry after what has been a uniquely challenging year. Law.com International spent several months approaching many of the world's largest and most influential private equity firms to seek out recommendations before surveying a wide range of experienced partners for their views on which lawyers aged under 40 they rated most highly. A longlist of 75 entries and recommendations was then whittled down to 25 based on the quality of their client base; the scale, significance and complexity of their deals; their client feedback and general market reputation; the standing of their mentor; and any other examples of career success and innovation. The lawyers who made the list below demonstrated their prowess in winning new clients, deepening existing relationships and broadening the scope of their firm's private equity expertise against a background of uncertainty. Some even welcomed new family members at the same time.  

 
Harry Bacon, Slaughter and May
Harry Bacon, Slaughter and May |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Partner, since May 2019
  • Key clients: Blackstone, M&G, and U.K. Asset Resolution

"He will be the standout lawyer of his generation," is how one person at a private equity firm describes Slaughters' Harry Bacon. Making the Rising Stars list for the second year in a row, Bacon's proficiency at negotiating private equity deals has once again been noted by both clients and partners at rival firms. One partner at a U.S. firm described him as "extremely impressive". With experience of advising on both equity and debt components of transactions, Bacon's expertise has deepened Slaughter's private equity bench strength. Outside of work, Bacon is "a keen blues guitarist", saying that he used the lockdown as an opportunity to record some covers. "They're absolutely terrible, but I've found the process of making music a really satisfying escape," he says.  

 
Tom Bartram, Kirkland & Ellis
Tom Bartram, Kirkland & Ellis |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Partner, since October 2018
  • Key clients: BC Partners, Blackstone, and EQT

Kirkland's Tom Bartram was recommended for this list by a senior in-house lawyer at a major private equity firm. He recently took a role for regular client BC Partners on its buyout of Italian machinery firm IMA at a valuation of €2.9 billion, a little over a year after he had advised the London-headquartered buyout giant on its acquisition of a 50% stake in computer software business Advanced from Vista Equity in a £2 billion deal. The lockdown, though "surreal", was also "rewarding", Bartram says, "in that I got to spend much more time at home and I was able to see my son take his first steps." For the months ahead, Bartram says he expects "the European market will flirt with SPACs; sponsors will continue to focus on 'COVID-resistant' sectors; sale processes that were put on hold in Q1 and Q2 will be re-launched now that sellers and buyers have sufficient 'COVID performance data.'"  

 
Lewis Blakey, Weil Gotshal
Lewis Blakey, Weil Gotshal & Manges |
  • Year of birth: 1987
  • Position: Partner, since January 2020
  • Key clients: Advent International, Bain Capital, and Providence Equity Partners

Another lawyer to reappear on the Rising Stars list is Weil Gotshal & Manges' Lewis Blakey, who has advised on two of the largest private equity deals of the year. He advised Bain Capital on its $4 billion carve-out acquisition of Kantar from marketing services giant WPP, and Advent International on its £4 billion public-to-private acquisition of British aerospace manufacturer Cobham. Blakey's promotion to Weil's London partnership earlier this year – aged just 32 – reflects his status in the market, with one general counsel of a top private equity firm describing him as being "smart, diligent, commercial and [having] excellent judgement". Blakey says that the COVID-19 lockdown resulted in "some really creative deal-making in bilateral and/or stressed situations", adding: "Recently, activity levels have been and continue to be very high, but I think it would be foolish to forecast too far into the future with all of the COVID-19, Brexit and U.S. election situations being so unpredictable…"  

 
Alastair Brown, Freshfields Alastair Brown, Freshfields
Alastair Brown, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner, since May 2020
  • Key clients: Cinven, Warburg Pincus, CVC, Brookfield, KKR, and The Carlyle Group

It has been a busy year for Freshfields' Alastair Brown in more ways than one. As well as advising KKR on its dual track exit of Trainline via an initial public offering in 2019, one of the most high-profile deals of last year, he has juggled working throughout the lockdown with raising two young children, including his now- six-month-old daughter. A previous Rising Stars list alumnus, Brown's clients include the likes of Cinven, Warburg Pincus and CVC, and he made another excellent impression on clients this year — he was described by a general counsel at a major private equity firm as being "a seriously good lawyer" and "impressive". The best thing about his job, Brown says, is working with clients and colleagues, but adds: "I've never particularly enjoyed being on the receiving end of a Friday night drop of documents".  

 
Lucy Bullock, White & Case
Lucy Bullock, White & Case |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner, since January 2019
  • Key clients: Alvogen (a company owned by a consortia of PE investors including CVC and Temasek), Bluewater Energy, Avast (newly promoted FTSE 100 company, previously owned by its founders CVC and Summit)

White & Case London partner Lucy Bullock has made significant strides to bolster the firm's private equity practice in the last year. A go-to adviser for new White & Case clients such as pharma giant Alvogen and cybersecurity company Avast – both of which are strongly aligned with private equity giant CVC – Bullock leads the firm's EMEA advisory team as a sort of "outsourced general counsel" for portfolio companies and their sponsors through the investment period to exit and beyond. But despite her proficiency for commercial law, Bullock hadn't intended to become a lawyer, having initially studied mineral physics and mineralogy at university. Despite the year's ups and downs, Bullock hopes to see "an exponential increase in innovation" in the legal industry. "I find it amazing how the industry, which is traditionally very 'face-to-face', has adapted and I think continuing to evolve will really help to attract the best talent to the profession in the future," she says.  

 
Ravi Chopra, Goodwin Procter
Ravi Chopra, Goodwin Procter |
  • Year of birth: 1985
  • Position: Partner, since October 2019
  • Key clients: Abingworth, Ares Management, BNP Paribas, Capital Dynamics, LGT, Palamon Capital Partners, and Willis Towers Watson

Investment funds partner Ravi Chopra's ability to work on crossover transactions as well as straight fundraising matters has set him apart from his peers in the industry. His guidance on a highly complex transaction to introduce €105 million of preferred equity financing to a mature portfolio across Palamon Partners' third private equity fund led to the client saying that Chopra's "picture will be going up on the Palamon Wall of Fame". Chopra also has been at the forefront of developing Goodwin's London secondaries practice, having been chosen by the firm to co-lead its new Secondaries Incubator. Regarding the market outlook for the rest of 2020, Chopra says: "I think the coming few months will see a lot of deal flow as dry powder raised is deployed and managers take advantage of emerging opportunities. It's been interesting to see preferred equity being used more in the secondaries space and greater focus on impact investment."  

 
Mark Evans, Dechert
Mark Evans, Dechert |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Senior Associate
  • Key clients: Ares Management, Astorg, Cerberus Capital Management, Endless, GIC, Mid Europa Partners, Nordic Capital

For Mark Evans, becoming a lawyer was not a given — after reading law at university, he was torn between pursuing a legal career or becoming a chef. Luckily for Dechert, Evans became a lawyer, joining its London office in 2017 from White & Case. Last year Evans acted for Singapore wealth fund GIC on the proposed $27 billion sale of financial market data provider Refinitiv by a consortium made up of Blackstone, CPPIB and GIC to the London Stock Exchange, in what was the largest private equity exit of 2019. After deciding to pursue a legal career that seemed to be "an interesting forum for problem solving and had the added appeal of not requiring me to spend all day on my feet under the pressure of the kitchen", Evans quickly discovered that "the pressure (and in some cases the amount of running around) was not dissimilar to a restaurant kitchen but that the lateral thinking and problem solving required was great for keeping things interesting".  

 
Ed Ford, Travers Smith
Edward Ford, Travers Smith |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Senior Associate
  • Key clients: Abris Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs, Hermes GPE , and M&G Investment Management

Travers private funds lawyer Ed Ford "epitomises everything clients like about the firm" by exercising "strong commercial judgment", according to one of his own clients. Luckily for them, Ford's incentive to become a lawyer came from being dragged to a Travers Smith presentation by a friend at university — and Ford has "never looked back". Ford has had a busy lockdown – he is currently advising on three GP-led secondaries transactions. He cites one particular lockdown deal — advising Medicxi Ventures on a "groundbreaking" structured secondary transaction — as "a career highlight", though he notes that lockdown also provided his young son with the opportunity to draw over his work notebooks in felt pen, which he says "was mainly – not exclusively – sweet".  

 
Alistair Francis, Osborne Clarke
Alistair Francis, Osborne Clarke |
  • Year of birth: 1982
  • Position: Partner, since January 2018
  • Key clients: LDC, Mobeus Equity Partners, and Tenzing Private Equity

Clients praise Osborne Clarke's Alistair Francis as being "amazing" and "so supportive". A keen mentor of younger colleagues, Francis has himself benefitted from the mentorship of senior OC private equity lawyers Tim Hewens and Mark Spinner. Alistair is also a partner champion for the OC gender equality network and also its LGBT+ network. As for his lockdown experience, Francis says: "Juggling work and parenting/home schooling a five- and three-year-old with my wife (a full-time working lawyer as well) was difficult to say the least although we were thankful that we had a garden! That said, as someone who lives in Bristol and who commuted or stayed a few nights a week in London before lockdown, it was also great to be able to spend so much time with the family." On the work front, Francis has acted on seven transactions for Tenzing in 12 months, either as lead partner or co-lead, demonstrating the essential role he plays for one of the firm's institutional clients.  

 
Federico Fruhbeck, Vinson & Elkins
Federico Fruhbeck, Vinson & Elkins |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner, since January 2018
  • Key clients: KKR, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, The Blackstone Group, First Reserve

London lawyer Federico Fruhbeck says that his former career as a professional pianist and conductor has helped his career as a lawyer, as both "require you to be highly creative and detail-oriented". Clients and lawyers at other firms cite Fruhbeck's attention to detail as central to his appeal, as well as his "extremely likeable" personality. Indeed, Madrid-born-and-raised Fruhbeck says that one of his main goals during the lockdown has been to make sure that he and his team "keep a good spirit and take steps to make sure others on our team can do the same", especially with so many people working from home. A key advisor to investment firm KKR, Fruhbeck recently took a leading role for the firm on its acquisition of European Locomotive Leasing (ELL), an electric locomotive leasing solutions provider. His experience ranges across a number of European countries, including Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece, positioning Houston-headquartered firm Vinson & Elkins to take on a range of major mandates across the region.  

 
Richard Johnson, Freshfields
Richard Johnson, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Senior Associate
  • Key clients: Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Particularly highly rated by partners at other law firms, Johnson has caught the market's attention as being a notable rising star in Freshfields' London office. The firm credits him as being able to "completely win over" even the most demanding of clients with his "maturity, calmness, obvious rigour and his ability to calibrate his style". A senior private equity lawyer at a U.S. law firm in London adds that Johnson's skills stood out while working opposite him on a deal. But Johnson says that the biggest challenges he faced through the lockdown have been "limiting my hobnob intake and remembering to get dressed in time for Teams meetings". He expects that the coming months will feature lots of public to private transactions, carve-outs and asset deals as clients at the higher end of the market get more creative.  

 
Narinder Jugpal, CMS
Narinder Jugpal, CMS |
  • Year of birth: 1984
  • Position: Partner, since May 2018
  • Key clients: August Equity, Inflexion, LDC, and Bowmark Capital

CMS says Jugpal is playing a key part in helping the firm cultivate new relationships. He took the firm from winning its first instruction to being one of August Equity's 'go to' firms all within the space of 12 months after fostering an initial relationship with the client. Jugpal is also "very proud" of his work to mobilise the firm's private equity and restructuring experts on the distressed sale process of Sofa.com which eventually saved the business and numerous jobs. On the personal front, Jugpal went into the March COVID-19 lockdown with a two-week old baby. "When it comes to working from home, I think as a profession we have fast-forwarded five years (possibly longer) in the space of only a few months and this is something I think should certainly be embraced going forward," he says. "However, a balance will be required as we come out of the pandemic. Ultimately, private equity is a relationship business that requires the building of social capital through human interactions, which is much more effectively done in person."  

 
Matthieu Lampel, DLA Piper
Matthieu Lampel, DLA Piper |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Partner, since May 2019
  • Key clients: Bridgepoint, The Carlyle Group, LBO France, and Abénex

In the last 12 months Paris partner Matthieu Lampel has acted on European transactions for major private equity clients including The Carlyle Group and Partners Group. Clients commend his "strong technical skills and deal-driven mindset", which was reflected in his promotion to the partnership in 2019. Lampel predicts that the French private equity market is set to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the coming months. "After a short period of careful assessment of the situation and its consequences on the market and their portfolio companies, French PE funds are now looking for new opportunities. I am confident that the market will resume shortly and will get back to where it was."  

 
Edward Lee, Proskauer Rose
Edward Lee, Proskauer Rose |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since November 2017
  • Key clients: Aberdeen Standard Investments, Ares Management, Investcorp Investment Advisers, Lexington Partners, M&G Investment Management, Schroder Adveq Management, and Tenzing Private Equity

2019 was a busy year for Proskauer funds partner Edward Lee — he advised on more than 30 secondaries transactions and 110 primary investments across the year. Described by Proskauer as "a natural leader and influencer", Lee takes the helm for client deals and within the firm, acting as a mentor for younger colleagues. According to one of his clients, "The combination of Ed's easy manner and outstanding knowledge makes him both a great lawyer and the type of person you want on your side at all times". As far as extracurricular activities go, Lee says he "used to play a lot of Ultimate Frisbee, until I ruptured my Achilles tendon playing for Great Britain at the European Championships in October 2019 (at least I got a bronze medal). On the positive side, that now means more time with my wife, Mara, and our dog, Skylar, while doing my injury rehab!"  

 
Jesper Lindbom, DLA Piper
Jesper Lindbom, DLA Piper |
  • Year of birth: 1988
  • Position: Senior associate
  • Key clients: ABRY Partners, Equip Capital, Storskogen Invest, and EQT Ventures

A senior associate in DLA Piper's Swedish office, Jesper Lindbom was listed by Mergermarket as the busiest lawyer in Europe for 2019, having acted on 17 deals across the year. As one of his many transactions, he was part of the DLA team advising U.S.-based ABRY Partners on their sale of AddSecure to Castik Partners. Lindbom says that despite a slowdown in deals in the spring, "we are now seeing a lot of new projects being planned and new assignments coming in, so I think we are in for a busy autumn and winter". During the summer, Lindbom enjoys sailing in Stockholm. "It's a wonderful way to combine the beauty of the archipelago landscape with a sailing adventure."  

 
Tom Lloyd, Simpson Thacher, London
Tom Lloyd, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett |
  • Year of birth: 1982
  • Position: Partner since 2017
  • Key clients: Blackstone, Goldentree Asset Management, KKR, Northwood Investors and TPG Capital

Another re-entry on the Rising Stars list, Lloyd is the go-to real estate private equity lawyer for major Simpson Thacher client Blackstone. In the past year, he took a financing role for Blackstone on its C$6.2 billion acquisition of assets from Dream Global Real Estate Investment Trust, and on its purchase of IQ Student Accommodation for £4.7 billion. Lloyd also co-chairs the firm's Attorney Development committee, as part of which he leads on improving training, encouraging prompt feedback on associate progress and supporting the professional growth of young lawyers. He says that the year has been "tremendous" for private equity, generally speaking. "We have seen firms, learning from the experiences of the global financial crisis when they pulled back from investments, investing new money where they see value and, in a few instances, backing their portfolio companies with temporary or COVID-related liquidity crunches."  

 
Charlotte Madden, Clifford Chance
Charlotte Madden, Clifford Chance |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Senior associate
  • Key clients: 3i Group, TPG, Partners Group, KKR, Carlyle, and Infracapital

Highly recommended by her peers and clients alike, Clifford Chance's Charlotte Madden has continued to make progress in advancing the firm's private equity roster to win new clients and mandates in the past year. Madden recently acted for Infracapital on its investment into clean energy business Fortum's public electric charging point operator, which was transacted completely during lockdown. The best part of her job, Madden says, is "the build-up to signing or completing a deal — that excitement never diminishes or wains and it is a real privilege to be there with the clients at such an important milestone". The worst part, she adds, is that "the demanding and exhilarating nature of the job can mean some long and unsocial hours, but they are generally at key deal milestones and so for a short sharp period."  

 
Vicky McGrath, Ropes & Gray
Victoria McGrath, Ropes & Gray |
  • Year of birth: 1985
  • Position: Associate
  • Key clients: Advent International, Bain Capital, TPG, 3i, Epiris, Duke Street, and Genstar

Ropes' Victoria McGrath has been much lauded in the London private equity market this year, including by senior partners at rival firms. And for good reason —while on secondment to major client Advent International, McGrath advised the private equity giant on its £4 billion takeover of Cobham, and also advised Advent on its portfolio company Zentiva's acquisition of pharmaceutical rival Alvogen's central Eastern European business. McGrath says she became a lawyer because she "liked the idea of being a problem solver — applying the intellectual concepts of the law to find solutions to real world challenges. More prosaically, I was a history undergraduate so progressing to the GDL was an almost inevitable next step!"  

 
Katie McMenamin, Travers Smith
Katie McMenamin, Travers Smith |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Partner, since July 2020
  • Key clients: Equistone Partners Europe, Hermes GPE, Bridgepoint Credit, Santander, and Goldman Sachs

Travers Smith finance partner Katie McMenamin was inspired to pursue a career in the law following a work experience stint that gave her a glimpse into a large insurance case relating to piracy. Instead, she ended up as a finance lawyer, and works with some of the firm's long-standing private equity clients on a range of fund finance and secondaries transactions, with her focus on the latter putting the firm in good stead to benefit from an expected surge of opportunities due to arise. McMenamin's cross-practice expertise and client list, which includes the likes of Equistone, Wells Fargo and Investec Bank, all contributed to her being promoted to partner during the summer. A senior partner at the firm said that McMenamin is one to watch for the private equity space, especially given the current volatility of the industry.  

 
Matthew Merkle, Kirkland & Ellis
Matthew Merkle, Kirkland & Ellis |
  • Year of birth: 1981
  • Position: Partner, since October 2014
  • Key clients: Advent, Bain Capital, BC Partners, Blackstone and KKR

Capital markets and high yield lawyer Matthew Merkle is a "go-to" partner for several of the biggest private equity sponsors in the world, according to Kirkland. Described by a senior partner at the firm as "a real talent", Merkle has advised on two major deals this year — he was part of the team advising Advent International, Cinven and the RAG-Stiftung on the financing aspects of the €17.2 billion acquisition of the elevator division of ThyssenKrupp, and advised Blackstone on financing aspects of the £4.7 billion take private of Merlin Entertainments. He also takes on extra work through offering his time on pro bono matters. In any spare time he has, Merkle enjoys reading science fiction and staying up late to watch American sports.  

 
Shoan Panahi, White & Case
Shoan Panahi, White & Case Year of birth: 1982 Position: Partner, since October 2017 Key clients: IK Investment Partners, Valedo, Adelis, Alder Stockholm-based lawyer Shoan Panahi was listed as one of the busiest dealmakers in Europe in 2019 by Mergermarket, having joined White & Case in 2017 from Nordic firm Hannes Snellman. He is noted by peers as being a "profilic" adviser to a host of Nordic private equity firms at a time when the region is attracting more interest from global investors, notwithstanding a choppy 2020. But being a lawyer was not always on the cards for Panahi. "Growing up I had no dream of becoming a lawyer and instead was fully focused on a career as a professional football player," he says. "At some point however, I figured that a career that did not peak at the age of 30, combined with grit, technical and business skills, might be something for me, so I decided to put away my football gear and instead pursue a career within law."  
 
Laura Pembridge, Jones Day
Laura Pembridge, Jones Day |
  • Year of birth: 1986
  • Position: Of Counsel
  • Key clients: AGIC Capital, Blackstone, Delancey, Goldman Sachs, True Capital

Jones Day's Laura Pembridge was recommended by several partners at other major law firms as being a rising star in the London private equity market. She has quickly become a go-to adviser for some of the firm's biggest clients, according to Jones Day, and aside from her fee-earning work sits on the London office's trainee recruitment panel. Pembridge says that the private equity market looks set to recover from the COVID uncertainty. "We are already starting to see new structures — such as fund-level Net Asset Value (NAV) facilities or preferred equity investments into listed companies — so there are certainly some 'green shoots' in terms of deal flow." The recent COVID-19 lockdown in the U.K. also threw up some major issues for Pembridge on a personal note. "An unfortunate incident with a bicycle and a tarmac road, leading to a large piece of metal in my arm to fix my broken elbow, gave me my biggest challenge — drafting with one hand is not at all efficient!"  

 
Adam Runcorn, Sidley Austin
Adam Runcorn, Sidley Austin |
  • Year of birth: 1988
  • Position: Partner, since July 2020
  • Key clients: TowerBrook Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Great Hill Partners, and OpCapita

Sidley's Adam Runcorn was described by a partner at the firm as being "a de facto partner" before he was promoted to the role in July of this year. He is "indispensable" to several of Sidley's major clients, the partner continued, including the likes of Apollo, Sixth Street and Clearlake Capital. Runcorn was also recommended for this list by an in-house lawyer at a major investment bank. Aside from work, Runcorn enjoys "travelling with friends and family as much as possible, especially skiing, as well as good food and wine and playing the (very) occasional round of golf."  

 
Linzi Thomas, Latham & Watkins
Linzi Thomas, Latham & Watkins |
  • Year of birth: 1985
  • Position: Partner since January 2019
  • Key clients: CVC Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, Ares, Helios, Leonard Green & Partners, and BC Partners

Another Rising Stars alumna, Linzi Thomas — a protegee of London private equity heavyweights David Walker and Kem Ihenacho — continues to make waves in the London private equity market, regularly acting for the likes of CVC Capital Partners and others. Once again recommended as a shoe-in for this list by a host of top private equity firms and lawyers, this year Thomas advised Leonard Green Partners and its portfolio company CPA Global on its $6.8 billion combination with intellectual property software rival Clarivate. On the best things about being a private equity lawyer, Thomas says: "It's been fantastic to share my journey with the clients I work with, including at CVC Capital Partners and The Carlyle Group, to see them rise and succeed in their roles and to bring deals across the line together." Thomas also plays a leading role in the firm's Black Lawyers Group and assists on associate development initiatives, making her stand out from her peers for not only her private equity prowess but also her determination to make the legal industry a better place to work for the next generation.  

 
Guillaume Vitrich, White & Case
Guillaume Vitrich, White & Case |
  • Year of birth: 1983
  • Position: Partner since December 2018
  • Key clients: Goldman Sachs, Zadig & Voltaire, Otium Capital, and Michael Baum

Tech-focused private equity lawyer Vitrich is well positioned to benefit from a predicted influx of deals as the sector continues to pay dividends in France. Based in Paris, Vitrich regularly acts for Goldman Sachs and took a role for the bank earlier this year on its €110M Series C financing round of BackMarket, a French e- commerce platform company. He says: "Tech and digital companies haven't been as negatively impacted by the current COVID-19 crisis, and many have become more attractive to investors during this time, as people increasingly adopt different tech solutions for their professional and personal lives. I strongly believe that the current trend focusing on tech targets will accelerate." |

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