Financial News: Willkie's Claire McDaid on Building a Private Equity Practice From the Ground Up
A recent Financial News article by Zoe Hu profiles Claire McDaid, founding partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher's London private equity practice, on building the team from what she describes as "a greenfield site" in 2014 to a nine-partner bench today.
The piece traces McDaid's path from Kirkland & Ellis - where she started as a newly qualified lawyer as its London PE practice was itself in its infancy - to leading Willkie's own build-out a decade later, and explores how she has carried lessons on associate training and client relationship-building across firms.
The article also cites Macrae+'s proprietary data on London private equity partner movement, noting that women made up 30% of private equity partner moves in London in 2025 - the highest proportion recorded in the eight years since Macrae began tracking the data.
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