Paul Hastings Enhances Premier Private Equity and M&A Platform With New York Finance Partner

NEW YORK – Further strengthening its premier private equity and M&A platforms, Paul Hastings LLP announced today that Rachel Gray-Pundir has joined the firm as a finance partner in New York.

Gray-Pundir has broad experience with top-tier and middle-market private equity firms, portfolio and other companies, mid-tier lenders, bulge-bracket banks, and direct lenders, as well as arrangers and underwriters across diverse finance transactions. Her complex private credit and leveraged finance experience includes leveraged buyouts, take-private transactions, dividend recapitalizations, refinancings, and out-of-court restructurings in matters ranging in size from middle market to multibillion dollars.

“Rachel’s arrival enhances the finance capabilities of our strong global private equity and M&A teams as we continue to build out our premier integrated platform with top talent that enables us to handle more deal and other transactional work with leading sponsor and corporate clients,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez.

After previously working at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Gray-Pundir joins from Winston & Strawn. Her experience includes working with KKR, Stone Point, New Mountain Capital, Thomas H. Lee Partners, The Jordan Company, and Olympus Partners.

“Paul Hastings has a strong global platform, an incredible roster of leading corporate and PE clients, and innovative teams that are consistently involved in the market’s premier transactions,” said Gray-Pundir. “I am thrilled by the opportunity to join the firm and collaborate with its many talented lawyers in serving clients across the capital spectrum.”

Gray-Pundir was named a “Key Lawyer” by The Legal 500 U.S. in Finance and earned The Secured Lender’s “Women Leaders in Secured Finance” award.

Building critical mass in its leading private equity and corporate M&A practices globally, Paul Hastings has added top-tier talent across multiple markets, including:

• in New York, a private equity team including Scott Joachim, Josh Ratner, Ryan LaForce, and additional lawyers from Goodwin Procter LLP;
• in Boston, a seven-lawyer private equity buyout team led by partners Alex Temel and Bill Schwab, and technology M&A and emerging growth lawyer Ian Engstrand;
• M&A and corporate takeover defense lawyer Eduardo Gallardo, M&A and shareholder activism lawyer Andrew Goodman, M&A and corporate governance lawyer Timothy Fesenmyer; and M&A lawyer Jon Kubek, all New York;
• an insurance M&A team including Kirk Lipsey, Chad Vance, and Sanjiv Tata, as well as
  Brad Drake, in New York and Chicago;
• in Washington, D.C., public company advisory and shareholder activism and takeover defense lawyer Sean Donahue;
• In Houston, a three-partner, seven-lawyer corporate team led by David Elder, Chris Centrich, and Patrick Hurley;
• in London, infrastructure M&A partner Jessamy Gallagher; and
• in Frankfurt, private equity and infrastructure M&A partner Frederik Mühl and corporate and M&A partner Nikolaos Paschos from Clifford Chance LLP and Latham, respectively. 

 

About Paul Hastings

With widely recognized elite teams in finance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity, restructuring and special situations, litigation, employment, and real estate, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers, and corporations.