30 under 40

Welcome to pfm’s exclusive list of the top 30 private funds lawyers under 40, as identified by the industry and by their own peers as the best of the best in the field.

In today’s challenging environment, lawyers have become lifelines for private fund managers, who are finding themselves handling ever more complicated fundraisings, transactions and regulations. The balance of power in the legal world has shifted slightly, away from the deal gurus – the former corporate rainmakers – and into the hands of the fund formation and regulation specialists, who increasingly have the ear of private equity’s powers-that-be. Nothing makes that shift more evident than the fact that 20 of the following rising stars focus their practices on fund formation.

Our 30 selected lawyers range in age from 32 to 39, and while 27 have been named partner, an impressive four of our list are already serving as heads or co-heads of their respective departments. Moreover, they have all made names for themselves not only through extensive work with big-name clients, but also through their industry presence in speaking arrangements at top conferences, articles in influential publications and pro bono work in the industry and beyond.

This list spans nine different cities across the US, Europe and Asia, and lawyers represent the practice areas of fund formation, M&A, regulation, finance and tax. Some have spent the start of their relatively young legal careers carving out niches in such topics as AIFMD or executive compensation, while others have developed know-how in a broad range of fund-related issues.

We recognize that lists like these are always going to be subjective and partial. But what’s undeniable is that every one of the lawyers named in the following pages has considerable promise, and collectively they are likely to become the next generation of legal eagles in the private funds industry.

Click here to see the official list.