Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Client Satisfaction

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is well placed to act for a diversity of investment management businesses, ranging from newly established firms and boutiques to leading multi-strategy alternative asset firms and large financial institutions. The investment management group is made up of a fund formation practice and an investor side team that continues to be a popular choice on the structuring and expansion of businesses, regulatory and compliance matters as well as on fund related transactions. Rebecca Silberstein co-leads the team, and her key strengths lie in advising on the formation and ongoing administration of buyout funds, among others. Fellow co-head Lorna Bowen advises some of the firms’ landmark clients and their funds, including Global Atlantic Financial Group and KKR, and they are both based in New York. The deep bench also includes Andrew Ahern, who is based in both the New York and San Francisco offices and advises on secondaries transactions on both the sponsor and investor side, while New York based Jonathan Adler works on establishing private equity funds in the US and across Europe and Asia. Justin Storms and Jason Auerbach are further key names in New York, while Marc Ponchione and Sheena Paul bolster the Washington DC location, frequently acting for financial services companies on transactional and regulatory mandates. Among the recent team changes were the promotions of Joe Binder in San Francisco and Luke Eldridge in New York to partner in July 2023.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Debevoise provides an exceptional, joined-up service offering. Their insight on market trends is impressive and market-leading across multiple practices and geographies.’
‘The team is sophisticated, incisive and innovative. I am particularly impressed with the full breadth of their service offering. The tax team is very knowledgeable on fund matters and provides invaluable insights on fund structure solutions.'
'Rebecca Silberstein is superb. Jon Adler is extremely astute and commercial. Andrew Ahern is very knowledgeable on venture capital fund formation and operational matters. He is technically astute, business oriented and a very effective operator. Joe Binder is brilliant. He is a very insightful and trusted counsel on venture capital fund formation matters. Luke Eldridge is a superb transactional lawyer.’
‘This group features a lot of women at all levels of seniority, which is a refreshing change. They have been a market leader in fund formation for decades and it seems know just about every structure and investor's demand. They offer negotiation positions that meets the investor's need while protecting the GP. Their tax team is also extraordinary and fundamental to putting fund structures together.’
‘On the corporate side, Lorna Bowen is exceptional.’

Key clients

Ara Advisers
Avanath Capital Management
B Capital Group
Bain Capital
Blackstone Alternative Asset Management
Breakthrough Properties
The Carlyle Group
Carmel Partners Group
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice
Crescent Capital Group
EIG Global Energy Partners
FS Investments
Global Infrastructure Partners
Goodwater Capital
Gramercy Funds Management
Grupo Romero Asset Management
Hamilton Lane Advisors
HarbourVest Partners
Investcorp
J. F. Lehman & Company
J.P. Morgan
Kelso & Company
KKR & Co.
KKR Credit Advisors
Lightspeed Venture Partners
Maycomb Outcomes
Morgan Stanley
Oak HC/FT
Odyssey Investment Partners
One Rock Capital Partners
Paradigm
Providence Equity Partners
Prudential Financial
PSG Equity
Sequoia Capital
Silver Lake
Stone Point Capital
SVB Financial Group
Symbiotic Capital
Tishman Speyer Properties
Varagon Capital Partners
Vinci Partners
VWH Capital Management
Citigroup (as limited partner of various funds)
The Ford Foundation (as limited partner of various funds)
Liberty Mutual Insurance (as limited partner of various funds)
Lowy Family Group (as limited partner of various funds)
The Nature Conservancy (as limited partner of various funds)

Work highlights

Advised Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in the formation of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Fund XII, an approximately $26 billion buyout fund, CD&R’s largest fund to date.
Advised Crescent Capital Group in the formation of Crescent Credit Solutions, an $8 billion private credit solutions fund.
Advised KKR in the formation of its KKR European Fund VI, an $8 billion fund focused on private equity investments primarily in the developed economies of Western Europe.

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