Kirkland & Ellis International LLP > London, England > Firm Profile

‘The team stands out far above any magic circle or other US law firm for its ability to advise. They are not afraid to share in a deal’s risk profile by standing behind their advice fully and, what is truly outstanding is that they foster such an approach from their junior associates to their most senior partners. All have enviable deal handling skills, with a seamless ability to take ownership of the most challenging deal dynamics, fostering a constructive relationship between counterparties and investing in the development of junior client professionals.’

‘Matthew Elliott is highly capable, client-relationship orientated and a true leader. He is an excellent adviser who stands behind his advice, has a genuine interest and invests in truly understanding a client’s business objectives.’

‘Great PE sector knowledge given enormous focus on PE as a business line. Deep expertise in accelerating transaction execution and obtaining ‘top of market’ commercial terms, tight coordination with expert debt financing specialists who are able to deliver a packaged product across debt and equity funding sets K&E apart from many peers. Hard working mindset – they will run through walls to get the deal done.’

‘David Higgins and Adrian McGuire are both leading individuals who command respect in the market with a matter of fact approach with ‘no drama/no tears’ style. They are extremely quick to make commercial judgements spanning due diligence issues, regulatory topics and engagement with management teams, and are structured, organised and responsive.’

‘Michael Steele is a standout partner.He is and has been responsible for driving his team to always work harder than the client. He is always responsive and always a step ahead of the client and importantly, the counter-party. He understands the right balance between being commerciall, while being aggressive, which consistently results in breaking new ground for us.He also understands how to negotiate in 4-dimensions when other law firms can be one or two dimensional – this is needed when solving issues that have multiple stakeholders each with different agendas. His team understands the maths behind the legal documents.’

‘Senior partners are heavily involved and understand how to solve multi-variate, multi-counterpary issues with very credible and creative solutions.  It is very common with other law firms that simple, basic issues take up 80% of the time due to lack of tenacity or experience where that should really take 20% of the time. The Kirkland team delivers here so we don’t waste time on the mundane.’

‘Outstanding quality across the board, joined up and creative thinking across multiple disciplines.’

‘Will fight tooth and nail, pushing the boundaries and breaking new ground while maintaining a very commercial approach and keeping the “deal train” on track.’

‘Have an excellent perspective on the market and what is market. Huge horsepower in the firm to tackle very complex and time constrained processes – Kirkland both outwork and out-think the competition.’

‘They understand the different dimensions of a deal issue and provide a clarity around the whole acquisition finance process.’

‘Neel Sachdev and Stephen Lucas are excellent.’

‘Dan Borg is very thoughtful and considered – breaks down complex issues and cuts through to the important risk and commercial items. He displays the right balance of being aggressive on terms while remaining  commercial’.

‘The firm is super responsive and the team well resourced with strong individuals across geographies.’

‘The team provides a highly pragmatic and flexible approach.’

‘Top-notch team and practice; involved in most if not all high-profile transactions in the market.’

‘The team has very strong credentials in the field of Company Voluntary Arrangements, having acted on the majority of recent large projects.’

‘The firm has advised us on several transactions relating to one of our investments, all of which have been extremely complex. They have come up with innovative solutions to numerous difficult aspects of the transactions, all the while staying commercially-focused, helping us to achieve a very favourable outcome to support the long-term development of the business.’

‘The very commercial Sean Lacey can think outside of box and propose solutions.’

‘Elaine Nolan is a very strong practitioner, who has significant experience in dealing with complex Company Voluntary Arrangements.’

‘Thomas Jemmett is incredibly diligent and attentive.’

‘Extremely knowledgeable, highly responsive, always available and very reliable, especially Cedric Van den Borren and Morgan Hill.’

‘K&E’s fund formation practice in London has deep expertise and has been our best external counsel across all of the jurisdictions in which we operate for many years.‘

‘Richard Watkins is very well connected to a large range of LPs and this simplifies our fund formation efforts. He has an excellent handle on market practice. He negotiates well and can be relied upon to present our position.‘

‘Amy Fox is an excellent lawyer, practical, fast and decisive.’

‘The two things that immediately come to mind are  the fact that everyone I come across at K&E are just nice people who I enjoy working with and the strength in depth – they just seem to have a huge bench of top quality lawyers and you know that you are getting quality service no matter who you deal with.‘

‘Richard Watkins and Andrew Shore are our core team and have been, and continue to be, excellent. Richard is vastly experienced and you just know that he’s seen it all before and has a total grip on what the key issues are in any transaction. Andrew is just great to work with: commercial, sharp, always available, always on top of things and extremely good at coordinating across different departments to ensure we get a single clear line of communication.‘

‘Aleks Bakic is responsive, understands our business (beyond just a fund formation assignment) and helps identify solutions to challenges.‘

‘They are very well able to connect input from counsel in various jurisdictions and to translate this into structuring solutions taking into account all these multi-jurisdictional elements. They make you feel you are their only client, which is really extraordinary.’

‘Ian Ferreira – technically excellent, with an understanding of the particular issues faced within the PE industry.’

‘Jon Tadd and Ben Harding are both fiercely smart, very hard working and totally committed to their clients. They have an excellent handle on the market and are picking up a lot of new clients.‘

‘The Kirkland team is undoubtedly one of the best fund formation practices in the City. On the real estate side, they have secured fantastic clients and are plugged into the market-leading real estate practice they have globally.‘

‘Jonathan Tadd is outstanding on the real estate side. He is a real star. His experience in Hong Kong gives him a real edge in terms of client service. He is hungry for work and executes to a very high level.‘

‘Jonathan Tadd has built one of the most successful real estate funds practices in the City, and is ruthless in the attention to detail he provides to his clients. His technical knowledge of the market allows his clients to rest assured that they will receive the best possible service throughout.‘

‘Alan Skerritt has a calm, polite, positive attitude and eye for detail, even in the most rushed/stressed hours.’

‘Nicola Dagg is one of the leading IP partners in the market.‘

‘Jin Ooi is very effective and extremely responsive.‘

‘The Kirkland & Ellis team offers broad-based skills throughout its experience range. Bright, insightful analysis is assured – delivered with appropriate reverence and humor.‘

‘Nicola Dagg is the genuine article. Experienced, smart, ever-prepared, thoughtful, and well informed beyond the immediate task/case at hand.‘

‘Daniel Lim is devoted to delivering thorough and thoughtful analysis and work product. The work product speaks for itself.‘

‘Steven Baldin is a pleasure to work with. He is fantastic both in his grasp of the detail and clear strategic thinking. High customer focus. Attention to detail and prepared to think outside the box.‘

‘Peter Pereira – High expertise, Excellent work commitment, dedication to case, prepared to consider novel approaches to achieve practical goals.‘

‘The team has developed novel, cutting-edge and coordinated global strategies which play out in litigation across the world, including China.‘

‘This team are completely best in class – super commercial and very responsive and practical. Cannot speak highly enough of them.‘

‘We have worked alongside the Kirkland London regulatory team for a number of shared clients over the years. Their ability to provide accurate but pragmatic and easy-to-digest advice has meant we’ve referred a number of clients to them over the years. They are very approachable and provide properly commercial regulatory advice.’

‘The team and their approach makes them stand out. Lisa Cawley is exceptional in her balance of experience, knowledge and commerciality. She is very approachable, very likeable and judges clients and their particular requirements expertly. Adam Skinner is excellent too and cut from very similar cloth.’

‘Very impressive team at K&E London. They have been providing excellent European regulatory advice to my private equity firm for over a decade.’

‘Prem Mohan and Lisa Cawley’s communication is excellent. Their response time is second to none. If they do need a little longer to answer a query this is communicated to me. I trust them and that trust is something that has been earned over a built relationship. I cannot speak highly enough of this team and its members.’

‘Response time is expeditious and they are leading in their regulatory knowledge.’

‘Lisa Cawley continues to be one of the top private equity regulatory lawyers out there. With the market share that Kirkland has in that space she is at the top of the tree.’

‘The team has excellent experience across the financial services regulatory spectrum with a particular focus on fund regulation.‘

‘Excellent partners and associates, who are highly motivated and excellent on strategic thinking and detail.‘

‘Experienced and highly able team of international arbitration lawyers.‘

‘Resourceful and thorough, and take a practical and common-sense approach, while being good on the detail in complex disputes.‘

‘Christopher Colbridge has the calm collected wisdom of a practitioner who has been through his share of battles and then some. He offers a self-assured creativity born of this experience, and he is hard to fluster and a pleasure to work with – essential qualities, particularly in investment treaty cases which drag on for four or five years.‘

‘Rajinder Bassi is impressive.‘

‘Rajinder Bassi is a highly intelligent and resourceful lawyer, who always gets on top of the detail, and remains cool and calm in the most contentious disputes.‘

‘Philipp Kurek has an excellent grasp of his cases.‘

‘Philipp Kurek is very smart – as diligent as he is thorough.‘

‘Possess high degree of skills, attention to detail, 100% involvement and ownership of your issues. They take no time to become a part of your team and actively work to discuss plausible solutions.’

‘Extremely approachable and make things easy to understand and digest. provide sensible solutions to complex situations. Always available, alert and mindful of your concerns.’

‘Nicola Dagg is a force of nature. She has an amazing client list and clients love her.’

‘Nicola is a gifted leader and natural strategic thinker.’

‘Incredibly bright, Jin Ooi is calm and considered under pressure. His understanding of the legal and technical issues is second to none and he is full of good ideas.’

‘Nicola Dagg brings very high expertise and experience in biotechnology patents.’

‘Key strengths are its people, who are able to combine extensive technical knowledge with the ability to relay that in a succinct but commercially relevant manner.’

‘Excellent knowledge of the fund finance landscape, market trends, innovations and readily available.’

‘Susannah Amini – excellent coordination on a number of complex fund finance projects over a number of years, even more so during the initial UK lockdown period.’

‘The ability to coordinate a number of overlapping projects, accelerating rapidly to conclusion when circumstances require it, in combination with consistent first class commercial insight is a highly valued commodity within the fund finance space.’

‘I think the K&E team is truly exceptional. They provide the perfect combination of sector expertise, market knowledge, commercial approach and deal savvy to drive the best outcomes for their clients. The scope of their experience and presence in the market is also extremely helpful given they represent many of the top sponsors and have negotiated financing transactions with all major lenders, therefore, they know how to drive to the most efficient outcome. I wouldn’t use anyone else, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.’

‘My overall impression of K&E’s team is very strong. Having worked with a number of Magic Circle and Silver Circle firms in the past, K&E is a cut above. Their lawyers have no ego, and they are particularly adept at identifying the commercial issues that matter to their clients and finding solutions to pertinent issues. They have an incredible track record of working with financial sponsors, and their responsiveness, accuracy and tenacity is second to none.’

‘Very efficient and highly knowledgeable in their field. Exceptional commercial understanding which helps to identify and prioritise the key aspects of our transactions.’

‘I have worked very closely with Kazik Michalski and his team over the past 24 months and I don’t think our transaction would have completed without him. He’s extremely diligent, thorough, creative, and commercial.’

‘I have a particularly high opinion of Kazik Michalski, and he is undoubtedly the best finance lawyer I have ever worked with. Kazik’s unique combination of sharp intellect and deal intuition makes him an indispensable part of our legal advisory team on large and complex deals.’

‘Jonathan Birks is a standout lawyer; he displays excellent technical skills and commercial pragmatism in equal measure. His ability to remain calm and genuinely good-humoured in the midst of the deal is particularly impressive and much appreciated.’

‘Jonathan Birks is absolutely fantastic. He is extremely knowledgeable both on the law and the market, and very hardworking but also very down to earth and accessible.’

‘Usman Khan is highly responsive and surprisingly relaxed, irrespective of time pressures.’

‘Kirkland’s team is extremely collaborative. I view them as an extension of me and my team as they always have our firm’s best interests in mind.’

‘Very successful practice containing a lot of experienced lawyers. They are trusted to work on the largest cases.’

‘Satnam Tumani is an excellent operator. Very strategic but also across the detail and client-centric.’

‘Andrew Butel is very easy to deal with, across the evidentiary detail, hardworking and smart.’

‘Marcus Thompson is a trusted adviser who I go to for all European financial crime matters. He always provides practical guidance, appreciates taking risk-based approaches, and gives thoughtful responses to questions.  Marcus has helped us navigate some very tricky matters and I regularly recommend him to my colleagues as a fantastic resource in this space.’

‘Satnam Tumani is dominant in the sector. He is an outstanding leader who knows precisely what to do and when to do it. He is a genuinely intimidating presence for any opponent and achieves results like no one else as a result.’ 

‘Mike Casey has been exceptionally astute with his legal analysis and business acumen, yet also a thoroughly kind individual. It is this “human touch” which separates Mr. Casey from many.’

‘Patrick Navein will be a star of the future.’ 

‘Comprehensive practice with strong knowledge of the UK and EU competition authorities. Constantly up to speed on the ever-changing nature of this space. Very strong at coordinating filings across numerous jurisdictions in a timely and organized manner.’

‘Paula Riedel is an excellent operator, providing first class support on antitrust issues arising in the context of M&A deals and elsewhere. I’ve worked with her on a number of transactions and, on more than one occasion, the other side were placing more weight on her advice to us than on their firm’s advice to them.‘

‘Mark Gardner: exceptional knowledge of antitrust processes across multi-jurisdictions (EU and other continental European) and tactical knowledge of how to effectively manoeuvre them; excellent commercial understanding and exceptional communication skills to translate complex legal matters into simple understandable concepts.’

‘Paula Riedel is excellent; pragmatic and deep knowledge of antitrust rules and the mechanics of merger control reviews. Not only does she understand the law and quickly get a grip on the commercial aspects of a deal, but she also has a forensic grasp of antitrust procedure in many jurisdictions, which is super helpful when plotting a path to deal completion.’

‘Have worked with Paula Riedel and Thomas Wilson. Both are heavily engaged and knowledgeable and offer practical advice. Both have strong relationships with the competition authorities.’

‘Strength in depth. Practical advice.’

‘Rajinder Bassi is brilliant; careful and thoughtful. She has a huge breadth of legal experience, excellent judgement and is decisive.’

‘This is a highly motivated team who are thoughtful and hard working. They really add value and the standard of their work is outstanding.‘

‘Rajinder Bassi: calm and pragmatic approach.‘

‘Jon Newman – excellent on the detail and on strategy; very commercial in approach’