NEWS
Paul Hastings Continues Growth of Premier Global Fund Finance Platform With Key Hire in London
July 19, 2026
Further expanding its elite global fund finance platform, Paul Hastings today announces the addition of Leon Stephenson to its London fund finance team.
Chambers-ranked Stephenson is a luminary in London fund finance and advises banks and nonbank lenders on the full range of products related to fund finance transactions spanning private equity, secondaries, real estate, private credit and infrastructure funds. He specializes in NAV; asset-backed and hybrid facilities; secondary fund facilities capital call facilities; co-investment and GP/manager support facilities; and other liquidity solutions provided to funds.
“As the global fund finance market continues to experience increasing demand estimated to approach $2.5 trillion by 2030, we see a great opportunity to gain more market share with our broad bank and asset manager client base,” said firm Chair Frank Lopez. “The addition of elite talent such as Leon positions us to immediately be a leading fund finance platform in London, is highly synergistic with our other practices in London and the recent Fund Finance practice expansion in the U.S., and reinforces our number-one position in global finance.”
Bringing more than 20 years of experience in the fund finance market, Leon has been ranked in Chambers UK for London Banking & Finance: Fund Finance for five consecutive years, is named a Leading Partner in Legal 500 UK 2026 for Investment Fund Formation and Management: Fund Finance and is recognized in the Reuters Stand-Out Lawyers for 2026. Leon has built an extensive network of long-standing relationships with U.K. and international clients and is trusted by many leading financial institutions to advise on complex transactions.
The arrival continues the ongoing expansion of Paul Hastings’ global fund finance platform following the launch of the firm’s Charlotte office earlier this year, which brought together preeminent fund finance teams from Cadwalader, Haynes Boone and Mayer Brown to join forces with our existing team led by Eric Schwitzer, and the recent addition of premier Fund Finance partner Jennifer Passagne in London.
“The opportunity to join forces with Paul Hastings’ elite global finance team was too compelling to pass up,” said Stephenson. “Paul Hastings has established itself and gained impressive momentum in high-end transactions, and I look forward to working with my new colleagues to continue growing the firm’s market share across the full spectrum of fund finance.”
In 2025, Paul Hastings’ Chambers Band 1-ranked Global Finance practice scored 15 No. 1 year-end rankings and more than 30 top 5 rankings from the leading league tables. The group closed more than 500 debt financing and preferred equity transactions totaling over $260 billion in aggregate financing. Paul Hastings has emerged as the world’s leading legal adviser for leveraged finance, fund finance and private credit representing virtually every top investment bank and direct lender.
Leon’s arrival continues a period of expansion in London, including the strengthening of the office’s PE and M&A platform with the arrivals of Mark Zerdin from Slaughters and Ferish Patel from Cooley, the upcoming arrival of Brad Weyland (High Yield) and partner arrivals across a range of practices: a four-partner team led by Lyndsey Laverack and Jade Williams-Adedeji (Private Equity and Real Estate), Jenny Doak, Alicia Osei and Catherine Richardson (Tax); Sally Evans (Antitrust); Thomas Picton (Structured Credit); David Richardson (Investment Funds); and Stephen Diosi (Employee Benefits and Incentives).
About Paul Hastings
With widely recognized elite teams across 17 core practices, Paul Hastings is a premier law firm with a culture of excellence focused on providing intellectual capital and superior execution globally to the world’s leading investment banks, asset managers and corporations. For more information, visit www.paulhastings.com.