Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

Under the leadership of the ‘vastly experienced and talented’ Stephen Lucas, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP has firmly positioned itself at the pinnacle of the leveraged finance market for an entirely sponsor-focused client base. Unencumbered by any banking ties, the team has been able to ’push very aggressively’ on behalf of its borrower clients, enabling them to access pools of capital in spite of the periodic closures of the syndicated loan market. Christopher Shield is the lead relationship partner with a number of the largest and most active sponsors in the market, including Bain Capital and Advent, advising both on a raft of cross-border LBOs, as well as in relation to liability management issues. English and New York-law qualified partner Evgeny Zborovsky‘s broad practice covers both mid and large-ticket mandates, with his dual qualifications adding an enhanced level of versatility and a deeper understanding of the implementation of US terms in the European market. Other recommended partners include the ’proactive and extremely professional’ Kirsteen Nicol, whose experience includes significant knowledge of syndicated and credit fund lending; Daniel Borg, whose cross-border expertise includes large take-private mandates, LBOs and bolt-on acquisitions; and James Boswell, for acquisition infrastructure finance matters. Neel Sachdev left to launch the English law practice at Paul Weiss in summer 2023 alongside partners including fellow banking specialist Kanesh Balasubramaniam.