Cahill Gordon & Reindel has hired a third leveraged finance partner from Allen & Overy's (A&O’s) London office following a high-profile, two-partner raid in the summer.

The move will see Joydeep Choudhuri reunited with A&O’s former leveraged finance head, Jonathan Brownson, and debt finance specialist Jake Keaveny, who joined Cahill last month.

Choudhuri, who is dual-qualified in both India and England and Wales law, was promoted to A&O's partnership in May 2020 and is a career lawyer at the Magic Circle firm, having trained and qualified there since his arrival in London in 2008. 

A leveraged finance specialist, he was the co-leader of the firm’s direct lending practice, specialising in multinational leveraged buy-out finance deals, with experience spanning the UK, EU and emerging markets, including private credit markets and speciality lenders. 

He has worked closely with Goldman Sachs, to whom he was twice seconded during his time at A&O, most recently across 2018-2019. He was also seconded to Barclays Capital earlier in his career. His deal experience includes work for KKR, as well as other lenders and arrangers, in addition to his work with Goldman. 

That experience, as well as his strong relationships with Brownson, an industry veteran, and Keaveny, makes him a good junior foil to the duo, and further boosts Cahill’s capital markets and lending group in high-yield products, which is a key area for strategic expansion.

An A&O spokesperson said: “Joydeep Choudhuri has decided to leave Allen & Overy. We would like to thank Joydeep for the contribution he has made during his time at the firm.”

The exit comes after A&O’s partners last week voted to reform its modified lockstep partner remuneration system to give the firm added flexibility in dealing with partner recruitment and retention, according to a report in Law.com.

Keaveny’s move, meanwhile, can be seen as a targeted long-term replacement for Cahill London high-yield finance partner James Robinson, who retired earlier this year.  With Brownson’s hire adding gravitas to Cahill’s London finance work at the most senior level, Choudhuri’s arrival supports the team as a whole, while locking in potential practice growth at differing levels of seniority.  

Cahill has a 31.1% share of representations in the high-yield market, and a 45% share of the leveraged lending market, according to Bloomberg. Five years after opening in London, it now wants to harness the financing opportunities that will flow from both UK and EU markets. Its practice spans underwriters and arrangers, where it has been highly regarded for several years

Last month, Sherman & Sterling hired leveraged finance partner Gary Hamp from Latham & Watkins to bolster its London finance practice. Hamp is returning to the city after more than a decade in Hong Kong.