Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is a popular choice for financial institutions and wealth managers, private equity sponsors and managers who praise the ‘highly knowledgeable and responsive team’ for their ’strong representation across traditional product structures and the evolving product landscape’. The practice covers liquidity solutions including LP secondary transactions, GP-led transactions as well as fund formations and restructurings across diverse asset classes. New York based partners Phillip Isom and Lior Ohayon jointly lead the practice, with the former counting spin-out transactions and buyer and seller representation during secondaries transfers to some of his areas of expertise, and the latter focusing on private equity, credit, infrastructure and real estate funds, both on a national and a global level. Further key members of the department also based in New York include Arash Farhadieh who advises private funds across the US, Europe and other emerging markets, Laura Friedrich, who works with private equity, venture capital and hedge funds and Matthew Block, who is well versed in secondaries and liquidity solution focused transactions and joined the practice from Kirkland & Ellis LLP in August 2023. Chicago lawyer Nathaniel Marrs joined the team in April 2024, bringing with him a focus on funds investing in the infrastructure sector from his previous position at DLA Piper LLP (US).
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘We have worked on PE, Credit and Continuation Vehicle funds. The teams are super-smart with a wealth of experience working with top tier firms. They are very helpful, practical guides.’
‘We work with Mark Proctor and Matt Block, and Larissa Marcellino plays a quarterback role. Mark and Matt know their domains deeply and deliver documents and advice on a timely basis. Larissa plays an overarching role, which has proven crucial. We are exceedingly pleased with the performance of our Willkie teams.’
‘Phenomenal partners. Highly knowledgeable and responsive team providing strong representation across traditional product structures and the evolving product landscape.’
‘Lior Ohayon is a consummate professional with excellent ability to reason, problem solve, and manage a high-quality team. I appreciate their knowledge, attention to detail, and dedication to providing strong results.’
‘WFG is always willing to jump on a call with us and/or our fund partners to talk through agreements, comments, feedback, etc. Willkie is always helpful and ready at a moment's notice.’
‘Brian Greene can always be counted on as a knowledgeable, reliable partner. Brian carries extensive industry knowledge & intellectual capital that gives us comfort going into negotiations. The broad team he works with gives us great support and is very responsive to our requests.’
‘Excellent client service. The team really gets to know their clients and their preferences and objectives. They have added team members and moved people up in responsibility as appropriate.’
‘The team knows us and is able to advise based on our needs and objectives. They don't waste time working on things they know are not material to us. They are commercial. Arash Farhadieh and Giovanni Smedley are among the members who are very valued by our firm.’
Key clients
- Alliance Consumer Growth, LLC
- Apogem Capital
- Aquiline Capital Partners
- Assured Healthcare Partners LLC
- Astorg Partners
- Banneker Partners
- Blue Water Energy
- Bridge Growth Partners
- Enlightened Hospitality Investments
- Evergreen Residential Holdings
- First Manhattan Co.
- Flexis Capital
- Full-In Partners
- Gainline Capital Partners LP
- Grant Avenue Capital
- Harbor International Group
- ICV Partners
- Insight Partners
- International Finance Corporation
- LS Power Private Equity
- Monarch Alternative Capital
- Morgan Stanley
- PAI Partners
- Paramount Group
- Pickering Energy Partners
- PJT Capital Partners
- Post Oak Energy Capital
- Prosperity Asset Management
- Redbrick LMD
- The Related Companies
- Related Fund Management
- Second Alpha Partners
- Sound Point Capital
- Standard Real Estate Investments
- STORY3 Capital
- Vantage Infrastructure
- Warner Music Group
- Wellington Asset Management
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Phillip Isom, Lior J. Ohayon