Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has hired a seven-strong investment funds team in Paris from Clifford Chance to strengthen the US firm’s European business.
The team is led by partner Xavier Comaills, who joins alongside partners Marie Préat, Elodie Cinconze and Pierre Goyat and of counsel Véronique de Hemmer Gudme, Benjamin Massot and Louis-Guillaume Cousin.
The incoming group advise sponsors and investors on fund formation, secondary transactions – both limited partner and general partner-led – GP stakes and fund-related tax structuring, enhancing the firm’s pan-European investment funds capabilities.
Shukie Grossman, partner and global chair of Gibson Dunn’s investment funds practice group, said: “The arrival of this outstanding team represents a transformational step in the growth of our global investment funds practice. Paris is a critical hub for the European private capital ecosystem, and this team’s market-leading capabilities and deep client relationships enable us to support sponsors active across Europe and beyond.”
Comaills joins after almost 13 years at Clifford Chance in Paris, having previously been a partner at Ashurst. His practice focuses on the formation and fundraising of private equity, infrastructure and private credit funds across European markets and is a leader on GP stakes transactions.
Préat has been with Comaills since his time at Ashurst, where she was a junior associate. She was made a partner at Clifford Chance in 2023. Her practice focuses on advising sponsors and asset managers on primary fundraising, secondary transactions, continuation vehicles and regulatory matters-related to private capital strategies.
Cinconze joins after just under nine years at Clifford Chance, making partner in 2024. She advises on the creation and fundraising of French and pan-European private equity funds across a broad range of strategies.
Goyat, meanwhile, arrives after just short of seven years with Clifford Chance, making partner last year. He previously practised at Bredin Prat. He advises on the tax aspects of fund structuring, carried interest and manager compensation, as well as fund transactions.
Comaills said: “Alongside London, Paris has become a central marketplace for primary and secondary transactions and GP stakes, notably in the infrastructure and healthcare sectors. Global sponsors increasingly require integrated counsels across Europe’s financial centres and favour European integrated platforms supported by a strong US fund formation capability.
“Gibson Dunn’s presence in the US and across those centres, combined with the strength of its global platform, makes it an ideal home for our practice.”
The Paris expansion comes amid a broader Gibson Dunn build out in Europe, with the firm this week officially opening its Madrid office following its launch in Zurich last year.
Amanda Bevan-de Bernède, partner in charge of Gibson Dunn’s Paris office, said: “[The team’s] arrival further demonstrates our continued expansion in Paris. The addition of this preeminent investment funds team strengthens our offering to clients that are seeking high-quality advice in France, across Europe and beyond.”
Last month, Ropes & Gray added an eight-lawyer M&A and private equity team in Paris from Latham & Watkins, while in February McDermott Will & Schulte hired Paris-based private credit partner Kalish Mullen from Kirkland & Ellis.
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