Published by Gbaf News
Posted on July 27, 2017
6 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Continues Firm’s Strategic Growth to Serve Clients in UK Market
Highly regarded leveraged finance lawyer Lorraine Vaz is the latest partner to join McGuireWoods in London, positioning the firm as a leader in meeting a growing demand in the UK for U.S.-style leveraged financings. She comes to McGuireWoods from King & Wood Mallesons, where she was a partner.
Lorraine Vaz – McGuireWoods LLP
Lorraine is the third partner to join the London office since February, following debt finance partner Jennifer Kafcas and M&A partner Jeremy Davis. These hires are key to McGuireWoods’ strategic growth in London.
Vaz brings deep knowledge of the leveraged finance market and an established reputation in her field. Able to work on both lender and borrower financings, her clients include banks, debt funds and other financial institutions, as well as private equity sponsors. Her in-depth experience includes domestic and cross-border financings across the credit spectrum, from large to mid-market leveraged and acquisition finance deals. She also advises on public bid finance, workouts, restructurings and funds finance.
McGuireWoods boasts one of the largest finance law practices in the U.S. and includes a highly respected debt finance team in London. With lawyers in key financial hubs such as London, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, the firm has handled domestic and cross-border commitments exceeding $100 billion in each of the past two years. Clients include many leading global banking and financial institutions, as well as the top 100 asset managers in the United States.
“Lorraine’s wealth of knowledge of London leveraged finance markets opens a world of opportunity for McGuireWoods to satisfy the continuing movement toward U.S.-style leveraged finance in the United Kingdom,” said Raj Natarajan, chair of the firm’s Debt Finance Department. “Institutionally, McGuireWoods is built to fill that void.”
“With her cutting-edge practice and cross-border experience assisting clients in sophisticated financing deals, Lorraine is integral to replicating in London the success McGuireWoods already enjoys as a market leader in the U.S. for debt finance deal work,” said Daniel Peyton, managing partner of the London office. “Lorraine represents another important chapter in the continuing strategic growth of McGuireWoods London.”
“McGuireWoods’ finance practice in the U.S. is outstanding, and the debt finance practice is consistently ranked in the top tier. I am eager to help build the leveraged finance team in London, and to work with the firm’s deep transactional practice to continue the firm’s strategic growth in Europe,” Vaz said.
For the past six years, McGuireWoods has ranked among the top 10 U.S. law firms in Thomson Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.’s year-end U.S. Lender Legal Advisor rankings. 2017 marks the third consecutive year in which McGuireWoods has been singled out as a leader in banking and finance by “Best Law Firms.” The firm was named “Law Firm of the Year” for banking and finance litigation in 2016 and “Law Firm of the Year” for banking and finance law in 2015 and 2017, underscoring McGuireWoods’ well-established strength advising financial institutions in corporate and litigation matters. In addition, this year the firm had 19 lawyers listed in banking and finance law in The Best Lawyers in America, the most of any firm in the U.S.
Continues Firm’s Strategic Growth to Serve Clients in UK Market
Highly regarded leveraged finance lawyer Lorraine Vaz is the latest partner to join McGuireWoods in London, positioning the firm as a leader in meeting a growing demand in the UK for U.S.-style leveraged financings. She comes to McGuireWoods from King & Wood Mallesons, where she was a partner.
Lorraine Vaz – McGuireWoods LLP
Lorraine is the third partner to join the London office since February, following debt finance partner Jennifer Kafcas and M&A partner Jeremy Davis. These hires are key to McGuireWoods’ strategic growth in London.
Vaz brings deep knowledge of the leveraged finance market and an established reputation in her field. Able to work on both lender and borrower financings, her clients include banks, debt funds and other financial institutions, as well as private equity sponsors. Her in-depth experience includes domestic and cross-border financings across the credit spectrum, from large to mid-market leveraged and acquisition finance deals. She also advises on public bid finance, workouts, restructurings and funds finance.
McGuireWoods boasts one of the largest finance law practices in the U.S. and includes a highly respected debt finance team in London. With lawyers in key financial hubs such as London, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, the firm has handled domestic and cross-border commitments exceeding $100 billion in each of the past two years. Clients include many leading global banking and financial institutions, as well as the top 100 asset managers in the United States.
“Lorraine’s wealth of knowledge of London leveraged finance markets opens a world of opportunity for McGuireWoods to satisfy the continuing movement toward U.S.-style leveraged finance in the United Kingdom,” said Raj Natarajan, chair of the firm’s Debt Finance Department. “Institutionally, McGuireWoods is built to fill that void.”
“With her cutting-edge practice and cross-border experience assisting clients in sophisticated financing deals, Lorraine is integral to replicating in London the success McGuireWoods already enjoys as a market leader in the U.S. for debt finance deal work,” said Daniel Peyton, managing partner of the London office. “Lorraine represents another important chapter in the continuing strategic growth of McGuireWoods London.”
“McGuireWoods’ finance practice in the U.S. is outstanding, and the debt finance practice is consistently ranked in the top tier. I am eager to help build the leveraged finance team in London, and to work with the firm’s deep transactional practice to continue the firm’s strategic growth in Europe,” Vaz said.
For the past six years, McGuireWoods has ranked among the top 10 U.S. law firms in Thomson Reuters Loan Pricing Corp.’s year-end U.S. Lender Legal Advisor rankings. 2017 marks the third consecutive year in which McGuireWoods has been singled out as a leader in banking and finance by “Best Law Firms.” The firm was named “Law Firm of the Year” for banking and finance litigation in 2016 and “Law Firm of the Year” for banking and finance law in 2015 and 2017, underscoring McGuireWoods’ well-established strength advising financial institutions in corporate and litigation matters. In addition, this year the firm had 19 lawyers listed in banking and finance law in The Best Lawyers in America, the most of any firm in the U.S.
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