December 12, 2014
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Stephen Gillespie will join as a partner in the London office. Formerly a senior partner in the European debt finance practice in Kirkland & Ellis International’s London office, he will continue his European leveraged and acquisition finance practice at Gibson Dunn.
“We are delighted to have Stephen on board,” said Ken Doran, Chairman and Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn. “Building a top quality English law transactional practice is a strategic priority for the firm, and Stephen’s addition is an essential component to attaining that goal. Stephen is a recognised leader in European leveraged and acquisition finance. His profile and experience will help us further develop a broadly based capability that includes leveraged finance, high yield, real estate finance and restructuring.”
Gillespie’s move complements the other recent and high-profile corporate partner hires in the firm’s London office, including Charlie Geffen, Nigel Stacey, Jonathan Earle and Mark Sperotto.
“We have worked on the opposite side of the table to Stephen on private equity finance transactions and have first-hand experience of his superb technical skills,” said Tom Budd, Co-Partner in Charge of the firm’s London office. “Stephen’s hiring will position us well to attract top-tier leveraged finance mandates from both sponsors and lenders. His strengths in English law leveraged finance, when combined with our established expertise and experience in New York law financing products, will create a formidable bench for our clients.”
“I look forward to working with old friends and new colleagues,” said Gillespie. “With its collegial culture, its first-class corporate and litigation platforms and recent substantial investments in the London transactional practice, Gibson Dunn offers a compelling opportunity.”
About Stephen Gillespie
Gillespie handles complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, workouts and restructurings. He has particular experience in investment grade, leveraged and event-driven financing. He has represented top-tier private equity sponsors in new money control transactions and LBOs; non-bank alternative asset managers in capital deployment, investment and lending transactions, including significant loan portfolio acquisitions and related structured financings, unitranche, mezzanine and PIK lending, and strategic debt advisory work; and portfolio financing, refinancing, distressed and restructuring work for client portfolio companies, including rescue financings, debt for equity swaps and strategic workouts.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, Gillespie was a senior partner in the European Debt Finance practice at Kirkland & Ellis International, where he practiced since 2006. Prior to that, he served as co-head of the global banking practice at Allen & Overy, where he practiced from 1991 to 2006.
He is ranked in the top tier in Banking & Finance by Chambers UK 2015, in the top tier for UK Banking & Finance in Chambers Europe 2014 and Chambers Global 2014, and was named in The Chambers 100 in 2013. He is also named a Leading Individual in London Acquisition Finance in the Legal 500 UK 2014.
He is a founder member of the advisory board for the Oxford University Masters in Law and Finance programme and leads an annual Senior Practitioner’s Seminar on that programme. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Oxford (BA (Hons) Jurisprudence, 1984, MA 1989).