Kevin McCarthy

Mishcon de Reya

Mishcon de Reya’s new head of corporate, Kevin McCarthy, will be spending 2021 looking to build out his expanded domain. On joining the firm from Ashurst in 2005, the M&A specialist set up a greenfield private equity group, marshalling its growth via a niche in management advisory, or in other words representing the people running a business that is being bought or sold by private equity.

One recent catalyst for growth in this market segment, identified by McCarthy, has been the increasing use of warranty and indemnity insurance, a trend that has unlocked a number of deals and, from a lawyer’s perspective, increased the value of the management advisory piece.

McCarthy also recognised early on that the personal, relationship-driven type of lawyering that this focus required gelled well with Mishcon’s client base of entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals and family offices. As Mishcon’s PE group expanded accordingly, McCarthy’s star has also risen. As he puts it: “It was a good roll of the dice for us.”

Now stepping up into a wider role, expect to see McCarthy bring a similarly canny and focused approach to winning private company mandates, Mishcon’s natural home, both up and down the corporate ladder.