Mayer Brown bolsters Leveraged Finance and Private Capital capabilities with new London partner

London – Mayer Brown announced today that Sarah Goodwin will join the firm as a partner in its Finance practice, strengthening the firm’s growing London‑based Leveraged Finance and Private Capital offering. Sarah joins Mayer Brown from Kirkland & Ellis, where she built a leading practice advising private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, and private credit providers across complex, cross‑border financing transactions.

Sarah brings more than a decade of experience acting on high‑value leveraged and acquisition financings, spanning the full spectrum of capital structures, including syndicated and private credit facilities, unitranche, second lien, TLB, recurring revenue structures, preferred equity, bank/bond financings and restructurings. She has represented a wide range of major private equity firms and alternative asset managers and maintains deep lender‑side relationships.

“Sarah is a transformational addition to our team, significantly enhancing both our private equity and private credit credentials, which aligns perfectly with our ambitions in London and across the transatlantic private capital markets,” said Philip Butler, head of the firm’s London Leveraged Finance practice. “Her experience navigating complex capital structures, combined with her strong commercial instincts and long‑standing client relationships, will broaden and deepen our Private Capital offering.”

Her arrival advances Mayer Brown’s strategic expansion of its transatlantic Leveraged Finance and Private Capital platform, adding upper‑mid‑market and large‑cap capabilities to support growth across EMEA, the US, and APAC, scaling as she integrates her cross‑border network and collaborates with partners across the firm.

Sarah will focus on coordinated growth across private equity, private credit, and cross‑border leveraged finance, while working closely with the firm’s Restructuring practice on hybrid capital solutions and opportunities.

“I am thrilled to be joining Mayer Brown at such an exciting moment for the firm’s global Finance practice,” Sarah said. “The firm’s integrated transatlantic platform, strong private equity and private credit franchise, and collaborative culture make it an ideal platform for expanding my practice. I look forward to working with colleagues across London, Europe, Asia, and the US to support clients on their most complex financing and M&A transactions.”

Sarah’s international background, including experience in London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong and studies in Cambridge, Berlin, and Warsaw, adds further cross‑border capability to Mayer Brown’s finance team. Her first year will include meetings with key sponsor and lender contacts and travel to New York, Chicago, Paris and Germany to activate joint client opportunities.

We are delighted to welcome Sarah to Mayer Brown,” said Dominic Griffiths, London Office Managing Partner. “Her arrival is another important step in our growth strategy and significantly enhances our ability to deliver sophisticated financing solutions for clients across global private equity and private credit markets.”

Sarah’s appointment continues to strengthen the firm’s EMEA Private Capital offering, following last year’s arrival of Corporate & Securities and Private Equity partner Mark Evans, Private Equity partner Tessa Agar, Leveraged Finance partners David Miles and Philip Butler, and Structured Finance partners Chris McGarry and Adam Farrell, all in London, as well as Private Equity partners Dr. Octávio de Sousa and Nikolai Sokolov in Frankfurt.