In Europe, Debevoise remains a premier private equity firm, with its Funds practice one of the few to have senior English- and U.S.-qualified fund formation practitioners on the ground. Chambers Europe quotes one client as saying the team is “one of the market leaders in what we do,” while Chambers UK lauds the team’s ability to “guide clients through regulatory, tax, investment and fund-raising matters with aplomb.”

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Geoffrey Kittredge

Patricia Volhard

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European Private Equity Blog

Recent Matters

Announcements

Recognised as a leading international law firm for having won 20 PEI Awards across North America, EMEA and Asia (2001-2019).

- Private Equity International Awards – Hall of Fame 2019

Announcement

Debevoise Announces New Funds Regulatory Counsel in London

Thought Leadership

Recognition

Ranked as a leading firm in Germany for Investment Funds by The Legal 500 EMEA (2021). Patricia Volhard ranked as a leading individual for Investment Funds.

They offer global solutions from a single source, are creative, solution-oriented and have extensive knowledge of funds and fund investors.

Ranked as a leading law firm in the UK for Private Equity Funds.

—IFLR1000, 2021/22

Ranked as a leading law firm in the UK and France for Private Equity.

Excellent work all-around. Skilled, thoughtful, responsive, proactive.

The Debevoise funds team led by Geoff Kittredge was excellent. They are technically very strong and ran the matter efficiently and pro-actively.

—IFLR1000, 2020

Ranked as a leading law firm in the UK for Investment Funds: Private Equity.

Debevoise has tremendous experience in the private funds space, they’ve seen pretty much every issue we encounter and know how to solve it.

Incredibly knowledgeable and they operate both in Europe and the US, which is a great advantage.

Client-focused and very responsive.

They are one of the leaders in the secondary PE space; they have seen all types of transactions and have an ability to think through all the angles and leverage international capabilities.

—Chambers UK, 2020-2021

Ranked as a leading law firm for Investment Funds: Private Funds in the UK.

The team and practice are leaders in their industry. The team have superior substantive knowledge; are always accessible and responsive; and work efficiently. The quality of the team makes them a pleasure to work with, and their advice is always valuable.

Their wealth of knowledge is crucial in the structuring of funds to reflect the latest trends not only in Europe but also in the US from both the GP and the LP perspective.

The investment management group at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP … ‘provides a boutique-like experience wrapped up in a US powerhouse offering.’

Geoffrey Kittredge ranked as a leading individual and included in Hall of Fame. John Rife ranked a Next Generation Partner.

—The Legal 500 UK, 2020-2021

Ranked as a leading law firm for Investment Funds: Private Equity in the UK.

Lawyers have “a depth of resources, are pragmatic and hands-on, and have good judgement of what is commercially important for the client.”

[A] strong team with extremely capable key figures,” and “very knowledgeable and very good at building trusted relationships.

—Chambers Europe, 2019-2021

Learn More

The Europe practice is one of the most active in the market. It is part of an integrated global practice that has advised sponsors of, or investors in, over 1,600 private equity funds worldwide, with committed capital of over $1 trillion. This experience means Debevoise’s European lawyers have deep insight into funds pursuing every major investment strategy, including buyouts, venture capital, mezzanine, workouts and distressed debt, secondaries, real estate, infrastructure, media and telecommunications, healthcare, energy and other sector and regional funds, as well as funds of funds.Such breadth of experience also means Debevoise’s European funds lawyers build solutions based on detailed business and legal data included in its proprietary database covering more than 2,800 private funds, including over 500 venture capital funds, as well as an extensive library of flexible model forms, memoranda and precedents.At a time of increasing regulatory complexity, the practice draws on its significant experience, as well as heavy involvement with the main European and emerging markets private equity trade associations, to ensure clients are well equipped to navigate the latest regulatory developments. These include providing extensive advice and support on issues such as AIFMD compliance, Dodd-Frank/Volcker Rule/IAA registration and reporting, and all FCA-related issues. For the benefit of clients, the practice has also developed a global survey of the securities and investment management laws relevant to the offer and sale of fund interests in more than 70 jurisdictions.The European Funds practice is further supported by a tax team that includes lawyers qualified in multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, U.S. and France. The practice includes complex carried interest planning and co-investment arrangements, often in multiple jurisdictions.The funds team is part of a global Private Equity practice that is one of the largest and most active in the world, whether measured by the number of funds, total committed capital or resources devoted to private equity fund formation. Through working closely with colleagues in the U.S.and Asia, Debevoise’s European funds lawyers offer a global perspective, and access to high-level legal advice throughout the world. Our lawyers are members of the technical committee of the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association.

Funds/Investment Management in Europe