Under the guidance of Aymen Mahmoud, the ‘very practical and hands-on’ team at McDermott Will & Schulte has, in recent years, gained most traction for its work in the private credit space on mid to upper-mid-market leveraged finance transactions. The arrival in mid-2024 of John Burge and Christopher Kandel from Morrison Foerster has not only further enhanced this core strength but also afforded the firm more visibility among banks and borrowers in the syndicated loan market. Kandel, in particular, has ’vast knowledge’ of different finance structures governed by both UK and US law, and consequently, over his many years’ in practice, has developed a trusted advisor role, particularly for stakeholders in the large-cap acquisition finance space.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘They are very practical and hands-on.’
‘Christopher Kandel has vast knowledge.’
Key clients
- Blue Owl Capital Corporation
- Northwestern Memorial Healthcare
- Golub Capital LLC
- Antares Capital LP
- Blackstone Alternative Credit Advisors LP
- European Depositary Bank S.A.
- Goldman Sachs Principal Investments
- Piper Sandler Finance and HPS Investment Partners
Work highlights
Represented Blue Owl Capital Corporation in the $310m refinancing of the existing debt of the Lakefield Vet Group, a family-owned veterinary business which has Peloton Capital Management as a minority investor.
Represented Northwestern Memorial Healthcare a leading US- based academic healthcare organisation, as lender on the provision of a convertible loan to The London Clinic Limited, the UK’s largest independent charitable hospital.
Advised a consortium of lenders, including Blue Owl, Golub Capital, Ares Capital, Guggenheim Partners, CVC Credit, and Partners Group as senior secured lenders and HSBC Bank as senior secured lender and hedge provider, on a monumental Unitranche financing of $2bn for the refinancing of RL Datix, owned by Five Arrows, TA Associates, and Nordic Capital.
Practice head
Aymen Mahmoud
Other key lawyers
Christopher Kandel; Mark Fine; John Burge; Giulia Venanzoni; Sophie Rezki