Kirkland & Ellis is excited to announce that debt finance lawyer Vanessa Xu will join the Firm as a partner. Ms. Xu’s practice focuses on advising financial sponsors on complex cross-border leveraged finance transactions. She has been recognized by the Legal 500 UK and Legal Week, which named her in its 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Private Equity in 2019. Previously a partner at Allen & Overy, Ms. Xu is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and an attorney and counsellor-at-law in New York. “Vanessa is one of the leading debt finance partners in the market,” said Stephen Lucas, member of Kirkland’s Executive Committee and finance partner. “Vanessa’s experience further strengthens our preeminent debt finance practice, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the team.”

Kirkland’s debt practice is the largest and most experienced sponsor finance team in Europe, consisting of over 100 lawyers. For 2023, it was ranked #1 in the Debtwire advisor rankings for Western Europe sponsor-backed borrower transactions by deal count, by value and by market share. Ms. Xu joins other recent leading debt finance partner hires in Kirkland’s London office, including Ian Barratt and Sinead O’Shea, who joined in October 2023, and Marwa Elborai, who joins this month.