Akin Gump to Add Two Further Private Equity Funds Partners in London
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(London) – Akin Gump today announced that private equity funds lawyers John Daghlian and Mary Lavelle will join the firm as partners in London. They will both come to Akin Gump from the London office of O’Melveny & Myers.
Together, they will join the firm’s investment management practice and transactional platform. They will work closely with partners Daniel Quinn and Aleks Bakic, who recently joined the firm from O’Melveny & Myers (read more here), as well as the firm’s established U.S.- and U.K.-qualified private equity funds lawyers in London, across the United States and in Asia.
A senior funds lawyer with nearly three decades’ experience in private equity funds and transactions, Mr. Daghlian served as chair of O’Melveny’s investment funds practice. He acts on the full suite of international and domestic private equity driven transactions.
Ms. Lavelle advises on international and domestic private equity driven transactions. She counsels fund managers, in the U.K. and internationally, and institutional investors, on a broad range of investment fund and asset management matters, as well as secondary transactions.
“John’s reputation and experience in the private equity fund market are second to none, and together with Mary’s experience and in-depth knowledge, they will provide a pre-eminent practice in London in this sector,” said Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith. “Together with their former colleagues Danny Quinn and Aleks Bakic, they will make a hugely strong addition to our dynamic global funds team.”
James Roome, senior partner in the London office, added “John and Mary’s arrival—and that of Danny and Aleks so recently—will add really outstanding capabilities and experience to our top-tier funds practice. Being U.K.-qualified, they genuinely complement the established U.S.-qualified private equity funds team in London and the U.S. This will be another very positive development for the team.”
Prakash Mehta, co-head of Akin Gump’s firmwide investment management practice, commented, “John and Mary are, strategically, an exceptionally good fit for Akin Gump. Our London funds team will now number eight partners across the core areas of private equity funds and hedge funds—and there are numerous connection points between London and the U.S. Together with the work that Tim Pearce and Ian Meade do in the hedge funds arena, their decades of market-leading experience will benefit clients in the U.K., U.S. and elsewhere.”
About John Daghlian
John Daghlian acts on international and domestic private equity-driven transactions, including the establishment of private equity funds, private equity portfolio transactions, management buy-outs, secondary buy-outs, domestic flotations, and mergers and acquisitions. He first started working on private equity transactions in 1990 and worked on his first fund formation in 1994.
Mr. Daghlian has advised on the establishment of LBO funds, venture capital funds, clean tech and renewable energy funds, emerging market funds, real estate funds, country-specific funds (including funds for Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, China and India), distressed debt funds and mezzanine funds, among others. He advises both general partners and major investors, giving him a unique insight into the issues both sides face.
He has acted on numerous spin-outs of private equity teams from financial institutions. He has substantial experience in secondary transactions, led the first European $1 billion secondary deal and has executed many billions worth of transactions since.
Mr. Daghlian is recognized as a leading practitioner in the field by Chambers and Partners, which notes his “in-depth knowledge of all aspects of fund requirements” as well as his “brilliant negotiating skills.”
He is top ranked in Chambers UK for Investment funds: private equity funds and listed as a Leading Individual in the UK Legal 500 for Investment fund formation and management, private funds.
Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales in 1991, John received his MA from St John’s College, Cambridge in 1987.
About Mary Lavelle
In addition to advising fund managers and institutional investors on international and domestic private equity-driven transactions, Mary Lavelle also advises fund managers in the U.K. and elsewhere in relation to fund formation and ongoing fund issues relating to private equity funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, mezzanine funds and other alternative investment funds, both in the U.K. and offshore.
She also has extensive experience advising institutional investors in relation to various aspects of their private equity and other alternative asset investments and the negotiation of fund terms, including development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds. She has advised clients on numerous buy-side and sell-side secondary transactions, including transactions for the sale or acquisition of portfolios comprising fund interests, direct investments, real estate assets and non-performing loans.
In August 2018, Ms. Lavelle was named to the “Young Guns of Secondaries” List by Secondaries Investor and Private Equity International. Ms. Lavelle received her BA, Modern Languages, French and Philosophy from Oxford University and her LPC from BPP Law School.
About Akin Gump’s investment management practice
Akin Gump’s investment management practice, comprising more than 100 lawyers firmwide, is a recognized leader in the representation of large institutional and entrepreneurial fund sponsors and managers in the formation of private equity and hedge funds.
The firm serves as lead counsel to some of the world’s premier investors and helps them to access opportunities in markets around the world. Through the investment management team’s representation of a broad range of investment managers and institutional investors, lawyers gather proprietary insight on emerging trends in the private equity and hedge fund industries. This knowledge and experience is particularly valuable to clients as convergence across asset classes continues to play out in the marketplace.
The firm’s private equity funds team in London will include six partners: John Daghlian, Daniel Quinn, Aleksander Bakic, Mary Lavelle who have all recently joined the firm, and established Akin Gump partners Christopher Gorman-Evans and John Holton.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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