Andrew Shore > Kirkland & Ellis International LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP remains one of the most prominent firms in the London private funds space, with expertise handling bulge-bracket fundraisings for household names in this area. The team is highly active in private equity, drawing on the firm’s outstanding reputation in this sector, and also wins mandates to handle the establishment of credit, infrastructure and special situation funds. The group boasts additional expertise in ESG-focused funds, with the addition of Ruth Knox, who joined the firm in September 2021 from Linklaters LLP, further strengthening its offering in this area. Department head Richard Watkins takes the lead on private equity fundraisings and is ‘thoughtful, calm and measured’, while Anand Damodaran has a broad practice across PE, credit and infrastructure and offers ‘extremely strong technical skills’. Other key partners in the sizeable team include Christopher Braunack and Andrew Shore, who also receives praise from clients. Amala Ejikeme ‘takes the initiative to solve complex issues’ and has experience across both conventional and more novel fund structures. Beyond primary fundraisings, the team is well-regarded for its work on secondaries deals, with Theodore Cardos and Aleksander Bakic, who joined from Akin Gump LLP in January 2022, the key names in this area. Edward Prestwich joined the firm in March 2021 from Macfarlanes LLP, while Amy Fox joined in October 2021 from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.