Key Takeaways
- • McGuireWoods hired Murielle Dawdy as managing director for private equity to lead development of McGuireWoods Capital Partners, a new private markets-focused platform.
- • Dawdy most recently served as director of private equity investments at 50 South Capital Advisors, the alternative assets unit of Northern Trust, overseeing primary investments, secondaries and co-investments in the US and Europe.
- • Her remit includes developing general partner and limited partner relationships, expanding engagement with emerging managers and select independent sponsors, and leading the firm's private equity conferences and business development.
- • The hire is part of a broader pattern of legal-sector private equity team moves, including Willkie Farr & Gallagher's addition of a five-partner asset management team and Kirkland & Ellis's pickup of a 40-strong private equity and debt finance team from Weil Gotshal & Manges.
Summary
McGuireWoods has hired Murielle Dawdy as managing director for private equity to lead the development of McGuireWoods Capital Partners, the firm's new strategic platform focused on private markets, according to The Global Legal Post. Dawdy joins from San Francisco, where she will be based.
Dawdy was most recently director of private equity investments at 50 South Capital Advisors, the alternative assets unit of Northern Trust, where she oversaw primary investments, secondaries and co-investments in the US and Europe. She spent just over five years at 50 South Capital before departing in May. Earlier roles include investment associate positions at Moelis & Company and family office Builders Vision, and just over a year as a strategic partnerships manager at Constellation Brands. The firm describes her as a trusted adviser to family offices and institutional investors, and notes her experience representing investors on the advisory boards of private equity and venture funds.
In the new role, Dawdy will develop general partner and limited partner relationships, expand engagement with emerging managers and select independent sponsors, and lead the firm's private equity conferences, events and other business development initiatives. The platform combines McGuireWoods' legal expertise and market knowledge with its institutional and private capital network to support deal execution.
Jon Finger, partner and president of McGuireWoods Capital Partners, said Dawdy's allocator-side experience gives clients firsthand insight into how institutional investors evaluate emerging managers and build investment relationships. Tom Zahn, partner and chair of McGuireWoods' corporate and private equity department, said her investment experience adds value for clients raising capital, launching funds and pursuing transactions.
The article also notes related private equity legal talent moves. Willkie Farr & Gallagher added a five-partner asset management team from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader in London and Washington DC, and Kirkland & Ellis picked up a 40-strong private equity and debt finance team from Weil Gotshal & Manges, led by Ramona Nee.
Dawdy was most recently director of private equity investments at 50 South Capital Advisors, the alternative assets unit of Northern Trust, where she oversaw primary investments, secondaries and co-investments in the US and Europe. She spent just over five years at 50 South Capital before departing in May. Earlier roles include investment associate positions at Moelis & Company and family office Builders Vision, and just over a year as a strategic partnerships manager at Constellation Brands. The firm describes her as a trusted adviser to family offices and institutional investors, and notes her experience representing investors on the advisory boards of private equity and venture funds.
In the new role, Dawdy will develop general partner and limited partner relationships, expand engagement with emerging managers and select independent sponsors, and lead the firm's private equity conferences, events and other business development initiatives. The platform combines McGuireWoods' legal expertise and market knowledge with its institutional and private capital network to support deal execution.
Jon Finger, partner and president of McGuireWoods Capital Partners, said Dawdy's allocator-side experience gives clients firsthand insight into how institutional investors evaluate emerging managers and build investment relationships. Tom Zahn, partner and chair of McGuireWoods' corporate and private equity department, said her investment experience adds value for clients raising capital, launching funds and pursuing transactions.
The article also notes related private equity legal talent moves. Willkie Farr & Gallagher added a five-partner asset management team from Hogan Lovells Cadwalader in London and Washington DC, and Kirkland & Ellis picked up a 40-strong private equity and debt finance team from Weil Gotshal & Manges, led by Ramona Nee.
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