Private equity funds lawyers John Daghlian and Mary Lavelle are to join the Akin Gump as partners in London. They will both come to Akin Gump from the London office of O’Melveny & Myers.
Together, they will join the firm’s investment management practice and transactional platform. They will work closely with partners Daniel Quinn and Aleks Bakic, who recently joined the firm from O’Melveny & Myers (read more here), as well as the firm’s established US- and UK-qualified private equity funds lawyers in London, across the United States and in Asia.
A senior funds lawyer with nearly three decades’ experience in private equity funds and transactions, Daghlian served as chair of O’Melveny’s investment funds practice. He acts on the full suite of international and domestic private equity driven transactions.
Lavelle advises on international and domestic private equity driven transactions. She counsels fund managers, in the U.K. and internationally, and institutional investors, on a broad range of investment fund and asset management matters, as well as secondary transactions.
“John’s reputation and experience in the private equity fund market are second to none, and together with Mary’s experience and in-depth knowledge, they will provide a pre-eminent practice in London in this sector,” says Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith. “Together with their former colleagues Danny Quinn and Aleks Bakic, they will make a hugely strong addition to our dynamic global funds team.”
James Roome, senior partner in the London office, adds: “John and Mary’s arrival—and that of Danny and Aleks so recently—will add really outstanding capabilities and experience to our top-tier funds practice. Being UK-qualified, they genuinely complement the established US-qualified private equity funds team in London and the US. This will be another very positive development for the team.”
Prakash Mehta, co-head of Akin Gump’s firmwide investment management practice, commented, “John and Mary are, strategically, an exceptionally good fit for Akin Gump. Our London funds team will now number eight partners across the core areas of private equity funds and hedge funds—and there are numerous connection points between London and the US. Together with the work that Tim Pearce and Ian Meade do in the hedge funds arena, their decades of market-leading experience will benefit clients in the UK, US and elsewhere.”
