Sinead O’Shea > Kirkland & Ellis International LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Revamped considerably following the high-profile departure of leading rainmaker Neel Sachdev to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in November 2023, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP quickly swooped on leading debt finance lawyers Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea from Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and even more recently gained the services of Vanessa Xu from A&O Shearman. These arrivals provided additional critical mass and expertise for the firm’s pre-eminent sponsor-side-only client base. Unencumbered by lender-side relationships, the firm is able to really push the envelope for its private equity client base, enabling it to provide favourable terms in spite of challenges in the market. Drawing upon his extensive deal experience, Stephen Lucas is one such lawyer who uses his encyclopedic knowledge of financing techniques to drive deals through to completion and has been active also in a number of large take privates, as well as amend and extends. As well as handling new money deals, Kirsteen Nicol has been a vital resource for sponsor clients on portfolio management issues, as has Chris Shield, who is additionally well-versed in advising borrowers on the use of unitranche financing to fund M&A transactions. Other key practitioners include New York and English law qualified partner Evgeny Zborovsky, who excels at handling both large and mid-cap transactions; Leon Daoud, who handles mandates involving complex inter-creditor arrangements and numerous tranches of debt; and Daniel Borg, who works with a host of private equity firms on multijurisdictional matters.

Kirkland & Ellis International LLP continues to solidify its leading position in the London infrastructure market by bolstering its already deep and experienced bench of advisers. In late 2023, the firm brought across the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP duo Sinead O’Shea and Jia Meng, as well as Simmons & Simmons partner Serra Tar – all of whom are noted for their M&A and financing expertise. A popular choice for multiple infrastructure funds and institutional investors, the firm handles blockbuster M&A and acquisition finance mandates – often with a cross-border element – across traditional, social and digital infrastructure, renewables, and energy transition assets. Sara Pickersgill, James Boswell, and Toby Parkinson co-lead the practice, frequently collaborating on the firm’s most consequential transactions. Pickersgill and Parkinson are recognised for their expertise in M&A, while Boswell is renowned for his extensive skills in debt financing. Celyn Evans has recently advised on M&A and joint ventures in the digital infrastructure space, while James McGivern is another key debt finance practitioner whose recent workload includes significant company takeovers in the transport and renewables sectors. Emma Shelston and Tina Xu provide further M&A and debt finance capabilities, respectively.