The firm is one of very few to have senior English, U.S. and locally qualified corporate, fund formation and tax practitioners in Europe, concentrated in London but also resident in the firm’s Paris, Frankfurt and Luxembourg offices. The European team draws upon its strength and knowledge of each jurisdiction as well as that of the global Debevoise network. It operates on a collaborative and interdisciplinary basis permitting it to remain at the cutting edge of current market practice. The European team also has particular experience advising on activity in Russia, India and across Africa.
As well as senior fund formation and buyout partners, the European team includes market-leading and multi-qualified tax, finance, capital markets and regulatory lawyers. In addition, the group’s proprietary database holds detailed business and legal terms for over 2,800 private funds, including over 500 venture capital funds as well as a vast library of private equity-led M&A and deal financing precedents. It also includes a global survey of the securities and investment management laws that affect private equity funds in more than 70 jurisdictions. This combination of knowledge and experience means that the European group offers one-stop shopping at every stage of a private equity firm’s lifecycle. It does so through lean and efficient teams with a deep understanding of the private equity industry and its commercial dynamics. It also permits the team to track, anticipate and develop market trends and practices.
The team continues to draw praise from clients and the major legal directories. Chambers Europe quotes one client as saying the team is “one of the market leaders in what we do.” Chambers UK lauds the team’s ability to “guide clients through regulatory, tax, investment and fund-raising matters with aplomb,” and quotes one client as stating, “we got a better outcome in our transaction as a result of working with them.” Chambers UK also notes the team has “good experience in the US and European markets and on Russia, India and Africa-related transactions,” while The Legal 500 UK notes the team’s “private equity clients appreciate the firm’s ‘rigour and responsiveness.’”