Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson

Fried Frank has built its reputation as a lean and highly efficient New York law firm for financial institutions and private fund managers. This sharp client focus shapes the firm’s structure and strategy. Approximately 70% of its lawyers globally focus on transactional work, corporate real estate, and fund-related matters. Internationally, the firm only operates from key finance and government centers in Europe and the US, namely New York, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, and Washington, DC. Given such transactional leanings, it is rather remarkable that Fried Frank’s global revenue was up 5.3% in 2024, crossing $1 billion in revenue for the first time, while profit per equity partner shot up 20.9% to $4.36 million, in a difficult fundraising and uncertain investment environment globally. In London, asset management is Fried Frank’s largest team with 48 lawyers, almost double the second biggest team, and consistently achieves top-tier recognition including a Band 1 ranking from Legal 500. The team’s expertise spans all private asset strategies, such as private equity, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, and hedge funds, covering both closed-ended and open-ended structures. This breadth enables the group to serve a diverse client base, particularly mega and multi-strategy asset managers launching funds that blend different structures and asset classes. For example, in November 2023, Fried Frank’s London team assisted BlackRock with the launch of its Evergreen Infrastructure Fund, which secured nearly $1 billion in commitments at its first founding partner closing. Evergreen Infrastructure is an open-ended core infrastructure fund targeting long-term investments in infrastructure businesses. Structuring the fund posed unique challenges, as infrastructure is inherently illiquid, yet the fund seeks to offer short-term redemption windows to investors. Fried Frank’s ability to navigate such complex fund structures and balance both closed-ended and open-ended features proved critical to the project’s success. Beyond BlackRock, who has trusted Fried Frank with repeated mandates including its Global Renewable Power, Europe Property, and Asian Property fund series, Fried Frank London’s broader client roster reads like a who’s who of global private funds, featuring names such as Permira, Dyal Capital/Blue Owl, Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital, and CVC Credit Partners. That said, the practice also works extensively with smaller European and UK-based managers, including Cambridge Innovation Capital and Cairngorm Capital. This versatility distinguishes the firm from American competitors like Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher, underscoring its adaptability and deep expertise in the European asset management sector. To complement its services for asset managers, Fried Frank’s London practice also boasts a strong Band-2 fund finance practice and a Band-3 lower mid-market M&A practice. The M&A team has handled several high-profile mandates tied to the firm’s asset management clients, such as representing BlackRock in its $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners and HPS in its $12 billion acquisition by BlackRock. To better support asset manager clients and retain downstream private equity investment work after fund launches, Fried Frank recently deepened its private equity bench with three partners from Goodwin Procter LLP: Christian Iwasko, Michelle Tong, and Priya Rupal. Together, the trio brings expertise in advising sponsors, asset managers, and management teams on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions. That said, the London M&A team generates a majority of their work organically and independently from the manager clients. For instance, the team represented LumiraDx Group in the $295 million sale of its point-of-care diagnostics platform to Roche Diagnostics Limited, including guiding the business through the 3-month merger inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority and subsequent implications for its administration process.