Patricia Volhard Partner Debevoise & Plimpton

Patricia Volhard is a partner in Debevoise’s Frankfurt and London offices, and is a member of the firm’s Private Equity and Funds/Investment Management Groups. Her practice focuses on advising private funds on a range of regulatory issues.

Ms. Volhard is one of Europe’s leading private funds regulatory lawyers, and has played a prominent role in the ongoing development of the area, in part through involvement in Invest Europe (formerly the European Private Equity & Venture Capital Association). She is the former Chair of its Tax, Legal & Regulatory Committee, as well as the current chair of its Financial Services/Regulatory Working Group. She is also a member of the Investment Management Consultative Working Group of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA); the Legal Committee of BVK, the German private equity association; the Alternative Credit Technical Group of the Alternative Investment Management Association; and the Regulatory Committee of the Listed Private Equity Association.

Ms. Volhard has been recognised by the major legal directories as a leader in her field. Who’s Who Legal names her as the most highly regarded lawyer in Germany for investment management advice, stating she provides “first-rate on regulatory advice in relation to the management of private funds to clients.” She is also recommended as a leading lawyer for private equity and investment fund work by The Legal 500 EMEA (2018), with clients noting her “good know-how” and “good eye for clients’ needs.” She is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Europe (2018), which states that she “is particularly well regarded for her expertise in regulatory issues and private equity funds.” In previous editions of the guide, sources note that she has a “deep knowledge of fund structuring, offers a high level of flexibility and effectiveness, and is perfect for complex situations.” She is also recognised as a “Most Highly Regarded Individual” in the current edition of Who’s Who Legal Germany (2017). The guide also praises her “outstanding” practice, with one client declaring her “one of the country’s most accomplished and celebrated funds lawyers.” JUVE Handbuch Wirtschaftskanzleien (Handbook of Commercial Law Firms) (2016/2017) notes that she is “almost without competition in her practice area.” Ms. Volhard is also listed by Expert Guides in its annual Women in Business Law list.

Ms. Volhard has commented in the media and written numerous articles relating to various aspects of her practice. Recent publications include “The Impact Of MiFID II On Private Equity Fund Managers,” Ipes (December, 2017); “Why Brexit Impact On Funds May Be Limited,” Private Debt Investor (September, 2017); “Terms and Structure of Debt Funds,” Private Equity (July, 2016); and “Keeping on top of the paperwork,” Private Equity International (July/August, 2016). She is also a co-author of “Still planning for a no-deal Brexit,” Private Funds Management (November, 2018); “Regulatory Implications Of A No-Deal Brexit,” Private Funds Management (October, 2018); “Weighing Sustainability Risks In Private Equity,” Private Funds Management (September, 2018); “Brexit: A Summer Flurry Of Activity But Still No Clarity For PE,” Private Funds Management (September, 2018); “Private funds in Germany: regulatory overview,” Practical Law Global Guides (July, 2018); “First-Time Fundraising Barometer,” BVCA Report (July, 2018); the Germany chapter, “Fund financing in Germany,” in Global Legal Insights to Fund Finance: 2018 (February, 2018); “Debevoise On Brexit: The ‘No-Deal Deal’,” The Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog (February, 2018); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Contingency Planning For Brexit,” The CLS Blue Sky Blog (December, 2017); “Brexit And The AIFMD: Impact For US Private Fund Sponsors On Their Marketing And Advisory Activities In Europe,” American Investment Council (May, 2017); “Debt Funds for Institutional Investors: Current Developments in German Regulatory and Tax Law,” FYB Financial Yearbook (2016); and “Liberalisation of the German debt fund market,” Private Equity International (2015).

Ms. Volhard studied law in Frankfurt/Main, Strasbourg, and at the London School of Economics, where she obtained her LL.M. in 1999.

Ms. Volhard is admitted to practice in Germany and France, and speaks fluent German, French and English.

Steve Darrington Partner and CFO Phoenix Equity Partners

Steve has been a Partner and CFO of Phoenix Equity Partners since 2001. Before this, he held senior finance positions in the US and UK, including four years as CFO/European Finance Director at Netnumber.com (previously Unifi Communications), and five years as Controller at The Economist. Steve is an FCCA and has an MBA from the Manchester Business School.

Elliot Refson Business Development Director - Funds Jersey Finance

Elliot re-joined Jersey Finance in November 2018 from Crestbridge where he managed their Management Company Services Group.  

Elliot is focussed on defining strategy and execution of marketing Jersey as both a domicile and destination for Hedge and Private Equity Management Companies and Funds based in the UK, US Switzerland and Europe.

Elliot moved to Jersey in 2006 to establish a Macro strategy Hedge Fund under the Ermitage umbrella for whom he also seeded other Macro / CTA strategy Hedge Funds.

Elliot founded the Jersey Hedge Fund Managers Group aimed at linking the growing community of local Managers and is a committee member of the Jersey Funds Association.

Simon Witney Special Counsel Debevoise & Plimpton

Simon Witney is a Special Counsel based in the London office. He is a member of the Private Equity, Funds/Investment Management and Business Integrity Groups. Mr. Witney is one of the market’s most prominent private equity lawyers. Both Real Deals magazine and Private Equity International magazine have named him amongst the most influential figures in private equity.

Mr. Witney is a regular speaker and commentator on company law, corporate governance and regulatory matters, and has advised private equity clients as well as the UK Government on a wide range of fund and transactional matters over the last two decades.

A prominent member of the UK and European private equity communities, Mr. Witney has served in senior positions within the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) over a number of years. He is currently a member of the BVCA Council, which is responsible for the BVCA's strategic direction and oversight, and previously chaired the BVCA’s Legal and Accounting Committee. He is a past Chair of Invest Europe’s Tax, Legal and Regulatory Committee and a current member of its Financial Services/Regulatory Working Group and Professional Standards Committee. Mr. Witney has also been a member of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association’s Legal & Regulatory Council.

Mr. Witney received his B.A. from the University of Oxford in 1989 and his M.Phil. from the University of Leicester in 1990. He obtained his MBA (Distinction) in 1995 from INSEAD and in 2017 completed his Ph.D. on corporate governance issues in private equity-backed companies at the London School of Economics.

Simon is a Visiting Professor in Practice in the Law Department at London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also teaches on the LLM programme.

Education

• University of Leicester, Master
• University of Oxford, B.A.

Bar Admissions

• Solicitor, England & Wales

Stephen Adams Senior Director Global Counsel

Stephen is a Senior Director of Global Counsel. Stephen has more than 15 years of experience in European and British public policy and regulation, chiefly in the field of international economic policy, trade policy, cross-border financial services policy and European integration.

He has advised senior politicians and policymakers in roles in the European Parliament, European Commission and Whitehall on a range of business policy and trade issues, generally with a focus on cross-border issues. He has also been an Executive Director of Goldman Sachs International, based in London.

At Global Counsel, Stephen leads teams advising Global Counsel clients navigating EU and UK policymaking and politics, anticipating and adapting to political and policy change. He has advised clients across a wide range on policy areas and strategic challenges, generally with a cross-border dimension, from banks adapting to a diverging landscape of financial services regulation to global manufacturers anticipating the challenges of a UK exit from the EU single market.

Stephen works with the leaders of many of Global Counsel’s clients to deepen and refine their understanding and engagement with the policy process.

Stephen also oversees Global Counsel’s output of public analysis and commentary. 

Stephen is an Honorary Fellow in the Global Governance Institute of the Department of Politics at University College London.