Joanne Mak joins Simpson Thacher as partner

“We have a market-leading secondaries practice, and Jo’s skills and depth of experience will further enhance our capabilities at the forefront of this market,” said Gareth Earl, Head of the European Funds Practice at Simpson Thacher. “Jo’s talent and creativity in advising sponsors and investors on complex liquidity solutions will solidify our position as the advisor of choice for complex and high-value secondaries transactions.”

Jo represents clients on a range of transactions in the private funds secondaries market, including single-asset continuation funds, multi-asset continuation funds, portfolio sales, structured secondaries, synthetic secondaries, stapled secondary offerings, preferred equity and other fund recapitalizations. Her practice also incorporates advising private funds in connection with a range of transactional matters, including direct co-investments. Jo joins from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where she was a partner.

Wheatly MacNamara, London Managing Partner at Simpson Thacher, said, “The addition of Jo demonstrates the latest step in expanding our European complex fund solutions platform. Working alongside secondaries Partners Ed Ford and Sacha Gofton-Salmond, we’re confident that she will further augment our capacity to provide sponsors and investors with creative solutions in a constantly evolving market. We welcome Jo to the Firm.”

Simpson Thacher advises on the full suite of secondaries transactions covering the spectrum of asset classes, as well as complex control and minority-stakes transactions involving alternative asset managers and preferred and structured financings for funds, their management companies and other industry participants. The team offers deep market knowledge and creative, tailored advice on fund-related transactions, including traditional and synthetic secondary transactions, structured funds products, continuation vehicles and other liquidity solutions.

Simpson Thacher is perennially ranked among the best private funds advisors around the globe by Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, IFLR and many others. The multidisciplinary team provides comprehensive advice to most of the leading public diversified alternative asset managers as well as hundreds of independent firms. The team has advised on the formation of more $10+ billion funds than any other law firm according to Preqin and advised on five of the top 10 private equity funds raised in 2024, as well as many of the largest GP-led secondary transactions in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.