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Debevoise's London secondaries hire follows **$160B** annual volume and signals white-shoe firms are building dedicated capacity as GP-led structures move from niche to necessity.
$160 billion
in 2024
$108 billion
in 2023
62%
of total deal flow
6.8 years
well past the five-year underwriting standard most LPs modeled…
Debevoise & Plimpton named Mary Lavelle partner in its London office, joining the Private Fund Transactions and Investment Management Groups. The hire arrives as secondaries transaction volume crossed $160 billion in 2024, up from $108 billion in 2023, with GP-led continuation vehicles now representing 62% of total deal flow.
Lavelle spent thirteen years at Kirkland & Ellis, where she advised on single-asset and multi-asset continuation funds, LP portfolio sales, and stapled secondaries structures. Her practice focused on European mid-market sponsors running liquidity events without full fund wind-downs. Debevoise has worked secondaries mandates through its private equity group but lacked dedicated London capacity as deal structures grew more complex and pricing windows tightened.
The timing reflects structural pressure on fund managers. Median holding periods for buyout assets now exceed 6.8 years, well past the five-year underwriting standard most LPs modeled in 2018 and 2019 vintage commitments. Continuation funds let GPs retain high-conviction assets while offering exit liquidity to LPs who need to rebalance or meet distribution requirements. Allocators increasingly view secondaries as a distinct sleeve: lower J-curve drag, faster cash conversion, visibility into underlying portfolio companies before committing capital.
Debevoise's move also signals law firm positioning ahead of regulatory scrutiny. The SEC finalized private fund adviser rules in August 2023, tightening disclosure requirements around GP-led transactions and limiting side letters that create information asymmetries. Continuation funds now require fairness opinions, third-party valuations, and LP advisory committee sign-off in most cases. Firms with deep transactional benches and regulatory practices can bundle advice; those without refer work out or lose mandates to integrated competitors.
Operators should track three follow-on developments over the next eight months. First, whether Debevoise adds a New York secondaries partner to mirror Lavelle's London seat, creating true transatlantic coverage. Second, how many continuation fund mandates the firm closes by mid-2025, which will show whether this hire was defensive or offensive. Third, whether other white-shoe firms—particularly Cravath and Sullivan & Cromwell—respond with their own secondaries hires, confirming the practice area has moved from niche to core.
Lavelle's first mandates will likely involve European sponsors sitting on €40 billion in unrealized portfolio value from 2019 and 2020 vintage funds. Those funds are approaching year six and seven, where continuation decisions typically occur. The assets are performing but not at exit multiples that justify sales into a subdued M&A market. That creates the exact setup where secondaries structures make economic sense and where legal execution separates smooth processes from broken deals.
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For the principal
If your fund managers are holding 2019-2020 vintage assets past year six, ask whether continuation vehicle structures have been modeled and priced.
For the operator
Track which law firms your GP relationships use for secondaries work; fragmented counsel creates execution risk when fairness opinions and LP committees are involved.
For the house
Monitor Debevoise's continuation fund mandates through Q2 2025; consider whether our secondaries allocations favor funds with integrated legal and advisory infrastructure.
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