Benedict Watson
Counsel
Areas of Focus
- Seeding Transactions
- Investment Management & Private Equity
- Global Investment Adviser Regulatory
- Fund Formation
- Fund Manager Transactions
- Institutional Investors
- Private Equity Transactions
- Private Capital
- Focuses on private investment funds.
Benedict Watson advises private equity firms on fund formation and has experience advising international investors, sovereign wealth funds and fund-of-funds on various aspects of their investments. He has also represented clients on secondary transactions, including large portfolios of interests and general partner (GP) restructurings.
Prior to joining Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Benedict trained and qualified as an associate at a leading U.S. law firm, which included a secondment to the firm’s Hong Kong office.
- Assisted in the representation of a premier secondary house in connection with a new $1 billion fund arrangement with a Bahrain-based investment advisor.*
- Assisted a green infrastructure manager on its inaugural fund that raised, including co-investment vehicles, $1.5 billion in total.*
- Assisted on a fundraise for a first-time agricultural fund.*
- Acted for an Asian sovereign wealth fund’s real estate arm on a $100 million investment into a separately managed account set to invest alongside a Hong Kong-based manager’s flagship funds.*
- Acted for an established Brazilian manager on the raising of its latest private equity fund.*
*The experience was gained at a previous law firm.
EducationL.P.C., BPP University Law School, England, 2015
GDL, BPP University Law School, England, 2014
Bachelor of Arts in History, University of Bristol, 2013
L.P.C., BPP University Law School, England, 2015
GDL, BPP University Law School, England, 2014
Bachelor of Arts in History, University of Bristol, 2013
Bar AdmissionsSolicitor, England and Wales
Solicitor, England and Wales