Leading Debt Finance Lawyers Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea Join Kirkland & Ellis in London

Kirkland & Ellis is excited to announce that leading debt finance lawyers Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea will join the Firm as partners in the London office.

“Ian and Sinead are recognized as top-of-the-market finance lawyers with significant experience handling sophisticated financing transactions for private equity sponsors and other corporate clients,” said Jon A. Ballis, Chairman of Kirkland’s Executive Committee. “We are thrilled to have them join the team.”

Mr. Barratt represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies on a range of complex domestic and cross-border acquisition financing and other leveraged finance transactions. He is widely recognized as a top finance lawyer, with Chambers UK ranking him a Band 1 leading lawyer for banking and finance and The Legal 500 UK listing him as a “Hall of Fame” lawyer for acquisition finance.

Ms. O’Shea also brings deep experience across the spectrum of leveraged finance transactions and syndicated facilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure finance. She has been acknowledged as a leading lawyer for acquisition finance by The Legal 500 UK and IFLR1000’s UK Women Leaders, as well as Legal Week’s “Women, Influence & Power in Law U.K.” awards.

Kirkland’s debt finance practice is recognized by Chambers & Partners, The Legal 500 and other publications for its work on complex, high-profile transactions; exceptional commercial understanding of international financing markets; and excellence in client service. With more than 300 dedicated debt finance lawyers, the team is the largest in the market and serves more than 500 private equity clients. According to Bloomberg, Debtwire and Refinitiv, Kirkland consistently handles more transactions for borrowers than any other law firm in the world and, for the last five years, has led the market in U.S. borrower transactions.