Erica Berthou is a senior partner in Kirkland’s Investment Funds Group. Erica has counseled investment fund sponsors on hundreds of billions of dollars of private fund formations, separately managed accounts and joint ventures across a variety of strategies, including credit, debt, energy, infrastructure and real estate, worldwide. Erica has advised both sponsors and institutional buyers in connection with strategic investments in private investment firms. Erica regularly gives strategic advice to senior management of private equity firms on matters of strategic firm importance, including internal restructurings and succession planning arrangements. Representative clients include Antin, Astorg, Blackstone, Bridgepoint, Carlyle, EQT, FFL, Glendon, GreyLion Capital, Hunter Point Capital, I Squared, KPS, Oaktree and TPG.
North America - United States • Investment fund formation and management
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Kirkland & Ellis LLP maintains a strong position in the private equity space, serving a broad client roster that spans across middle-market and smaller managers to preeminent private equity firms and global investors. The team covers private fund formation and maintenance across every asset class, appearing on behalf of both the sponsor and investor on complex fund formations, restructurings, transactions and related regulatory matters. Practice head John O’Neil is a preeminent name in this space and services funds of all kinds from the Chicago office. Erica Berthou and Andrew Wright bolster the firm’s New York office, with the former having experience in fund formation in emerging markets, next to advising on strategic private investments, while the latter has extensive experience with funds focused on industry sectors. Further key names in New York are Katrina Rowe, whose broad advisory offering encompasses buyout, credit and distressed debt funds, co-investment arrangements as well as compliance and regulatory matters and Daniel Lavon-Krein who is co-head of the firm’s strategic GP Advisory practice. In Chicago, Kelly Ryan and Katie St. Peters are names of note, while Nicole Washington is a key contact in Washington DC. In January 2023 John Senior joined the New York office from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and is part of the liquidity solutions team, while in November of the same year, David Sherman rejoined the practice from Latham & Watkins LLP. In April 2024, James Donohue joined from Goodwin in Boston, while Martin Strauch joined the DC office from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The bench strength and depth of the partners knowledge and relationships.’
‘Daniel Levon-Krein has been an invaluable resource since before we set up our fund. In addition to his guidance across a variety of topics such as structuring, LP engagement, strategy he has ensured along the way we always had the right resources for any need we encountered.’
Key clients
- JP Morgan
- Thoma Bravo
- GTCR
- Arcline Investment Management
- Patient Square Capital
- KKR
- Vista Equity Partners
- Oaktree Capital Management
- Warburg Pincus
- Blue Owl
- Veritas Capital
- Blackstone Group
- Starwood Capital Group
- Ares Management
- TPG
- L Catterton
- General Catalyst
- Whitehorse Liquidity Partners
- Audax Private Equity
- Arctos Sports Partners
Work highlights
- Advised Thoma Bravo on the completion of simultaneous fundraisings for its three buyout funds, totaling more than $32.4 billion in capital commitments.
- Represented Warburg Pincus on the formation and fundraising of its flagship Warburg Pincus Global Growth 14, closing with more than $17.3 billion in commitments.
- Advised GTCR on the fundraising and closing of GTCR Fund XIV, which closed at its hard cap of $11.5 billion of commitments.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Andrew L. Wright, P.C. is internationally recognized as one of the world’s leading attorneys in the field of private investment funds. With more than two decades of experience counseling many of the industry’s largest and most prominent fund sponsors, as well as numerous boutique managers, Andrew has advised on hundreds of billions of dollars of private fund formations across a wide variety of strategies, including private equity, growth equity and leveraged buyout funds, funds focused on industry sectors such as technology, healthcare, consumer/retail, the financial sector and others, debt and credit funds, energy and infrastructure funds, emerging markets and other geographically-oriented funds, "hard asset" funds, co-investment funds, public equities and hedge funds, venture capital funds, feeder funds and fund-of-funds, and other private investment fund strategies. As the investment funds market has evolved, clients have routinely turned to Andrew to identify creative solutions and execute pioneering transactions such as: fund tender offers, general partner (GP)-led secondary sales, including both single-asset sales and “strip sales”, other cross-fund transactions, stapled secondaries, investment warehousing and other complex fund-related structures. Andrew also assists GPs in a broad range of internal firm as well as fund operational and regulatory matters.
Next Generation Partners
Katrina S. Rowe is a partner in the Investment Funds Group at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Her practice focuses on representing domestic and international sponsors on forming, marketing and operating private investment funds covering a wide spectrum of sectors, geographies and strategies, including buyout, credit, distressed debt, infrastructure, real estate, energy and mezzanine. Katrina also has significant experience working with sponsors on co-investment arrangements, joint ventures and separately managed accounts, as well as structuring, regulatory and compliance matters. In addition, Katrina has represented institutional investors in making investments in private funds.
Katie St. Peters is a partner in the Investment Funds Group, where her practice focuses on structuring and forming investment funds ranging from first-time funds to funds of over $5 billion. She represents leading fund sponsors across a wide variety of strategies, including leveraged buyout funds, distressed funds, energy funds, debt and credit funds, hedge funds, “hybrid” funds, and other private investment vehicles. In addition to fund formation matters, Katie counsels fund sponsors on various operational and firm management issues, including governance matters, compensation and succession planning arrangements, separation arrangements, regulatory compliance, and other investment management matters. She also advises fund managers on fund-related aspects of M&A transactions, including deal-structuring, co-investment arrangements and alternative investment structures.
Nicole Washington is a partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she is a key member of the Firm’s Investment Funds Group. Nicole regularly represents domestic and international sponsors on forming, marketing and operating private investment funds, including buyout, secondary, direct lending, special situations, growth, mezzanine, opportunistic, real estate, infrastructure and other private investment vehicles, as well as on structuring, regulatory and compliance issues. She also advises some of the world’s most sophisticated private fund sponsors on internal management and succession planning, strategic investments, co-investment arrangements, joint ventures, and other investment management matters. Nicole’s experience also includes representing some of the largest and most diversified asset managers, as well as numerous small and middle-market managers on the formation of private investment funds ranging from several hundred million to multibillion dollars. Additionally, Nicole has significant experience in forming and negotiating managed accounts and single investor funds. Nicole serves as co-chair of Kirkland’s Transactional Associate Review Committee, and is a member of the Committees on Billings and Collections, Diversity and Inclusion and Firmwide Recruiting. She also serves on the board of PeacePlayers International, a non-profit organization which uses basketball to unite and educate children and their communities. In 2020, Nicole was named by Law360 to the Fund Formation "Rising Stars” list, an annual ranking which recognizes outstanding legal talent under 40 years old.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
John O’Neil