Catherine Gokah > Kirkland & Ellis International LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP continues to handle numerous high value fund closings, representing a vast array of private investment fund sponsors worldwide, alongside a booming secondaries practice. The team is led by Richard Watkins, who is recommended for his handling of complex private fund structuring and related transactional work, including multiple liquidity related transactions. Watkins is supported by a strong bench, including credit, real estate and private equity fund formation expert Anand Damodaran, the liquidity transactions focused Andrew Shore, and levered and unlevered parallel arrangement structures specialist Amala Ejikeme. Theodore Cardos is another central name in the team, offering expertise in synthetic and stapled secondary offerings as well as other transactional forms. Amy Fox, Aleksander Bakic and Catherine Gokah are all also integral team members who are noted for their expertise in the private funds space.

The investment funds group at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, which continues to go from strength to strength, was bolstered in late 2022 by the arrival of Louisa Cobbe from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and Paul Sampson from Allen & Overy LLP. In early 2023, the bench grew further with the arrival of Catherine Gokah from Ashurst. The team, which is led by Jonathan Tadd and new joiner Sampson, includes six partners dedicated to real estate funds work, and draws on the strength of its global network for support on cross-border matters. Key areas of focus include open-ended and closed-ended funds, continuation funds, co-investments and joint venture structures across all real estate asset classes. Tadd is experienced in domestic and international investment funds matters, while Sampson acts for top-tier clients on the structuring, formation and operation of real estate funds. Cobbe acts for both sponsors and investors on a range of funds matters, while Alan Skerritt, another key practitioner, handles fund formations and co-investments. Benjamin Harding is also recommended.