Key Takeaways
- • Gibson Dunn hired Chris Slack, a private equity real estate partner with 13+ years at Jones Day, to strengthen its London-based real estate and funds advisory capabilities across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.
- • Slack specializes in real estate capital raising, including fund formation, co-investments, joint ventures, and secondary transactions—positioning him at the intersection of real estate and private capital strategy where Gibson Dunn identifies growing client demand.
- • The hire reflects sustained competitive pressure among London law firms for PE real estate talent, driven by elevated private capital activity across European real estate assets and a constrained pool of specialized legal practitioners.
- • Gibson Dunn has expanded its real estate partnership in London significantly over the past year, adding Mark Manson-Bahr, Hayden Cameron, and investment funds partner James O'Donnell, while experiencing some partner departures including Jeremy Kenley to Latham and Claibourne Harrison to BCLP.
- • Eric Feuerstein, Gibson Dunn's real estate co-chair, emphasized Slack's ability to bridge real estate and investment funds expertise as critical to supporting increasingly complex client transactions involving cross-border structures and sophisticated capital platforms.
Summary
Gibson Dunn has added Chris Slack as a partner in its London real estate practice, recruiting the private equity real estate specialist from Jones Day after more than 13 years with the firm. Slack joins Gibson Dunn's real estate department while maintaining close collaboration with the firm's funds offering, positioning him to advise on matters that intersect real estate, private capital, and fund strategy.
Slack's practice focuses on real estate capital raising, including fund formation, co-investments, joint ventures, and secondaries transactions. Gibson Dunn framed the hire as part of a broader investment in expanding its real estate capabilities to meet evolving client needs. The firm emphasized that Slack's combined expertise in both real estate and investment funds—a relatively uncommon skill set—enables Gibson Dunn to serve clients pursuing sophisticated transactions involving complex capital structures, fund platforms, and cross-border investment strategies across London, Europe, the Middle East, and other markets.
The hire underscores intensifying competition among London-based law firms for PE real estate talent. Private capital activity across European real estate assets remains elevated, while the pool of lawyers with deep expertise in this specialized intersection of disciplines remains limited. Gibson Dunn has pursued this market actively over the past 12 months, adding real estate partners Mark Manson-Bahr and Hayden Cameron, as well as investment funds partner James O'Donnell, all based in London. The firm has also experienced some departures, including partner Jeremy Kenley's move to Latham & Watkins and Claibourne Harrison's transition to BCLP.
Eric Feuerstein, Gibson Dunn's real estate co-chair, described Slack's arrival as strengthening the firm's ability to serve global clients navigating the confluence of real estate and private capital deployment, a strategic area the firm has prioritized as institutional capital continues to flow into real estate structures across multiple jurisdictions.
Slack's practice focuses on real estate capital raising, including fund formation, co-investments, joint ventures, and secondaries transactions. Gibson Dunn framed the hire as part of a broader investment in expanding its real estate capabilities to meet evolving client needs. The firm emphasized that Slack's combined expertise in both real estate and investment funds—a relatively uncommon skill set—enables Gibson Dunn to serve clients pursuing sophisticated transactions involving complex capital structures, fund platforms, and cross-border investment strategies across London, Europe, the Middle East, and other markets.
The hire underscores intensifying competition among London-based law firms for PE real estate talent. Private capital activity across European real estate assets remains elevated, while the pool of lawyers with deep expertise in this specialized intersection of disciplines remains limited. Gibson Dunn has pursued this market actively over the past 12 months, adding real estate partners Mark Manson-Bahr and Hayden Cameron, as well as investment funds partner James O'Donnell, all based in London. The firm has also experienced some departures, including partner Jeremy Kenley's move to Latham & Watkins and Claibourne Harrison's transition to BCLP.
Eric Feuerstein, Gibson Dunn's real estate co-chair, described Slack's arrival as strengthening the firm's ability to serve global clients navigating the confluence of real estate and private capital deployment, a strategic area the firm has prioritized as institutional capital continues to flow into real estate structures across multiple jurisdictions.
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