Lawyers
Global Head of Private Equity Marco Masotti spoke with The American Lawyer about Paul, Weiss’s latest report on key trends and challenges in private equity fundraising, which surveyed more than 50 recent private equity funds, each targeting at least $2.5 billion. In “Deal Watch: What's Next for Fund Formation Lawyers," Marco says that fundraising and liquidity challenges, coupled with the maturation of the private equity market, are shaping demands on private equity counsel. “Fund formation lawyers now need to understand primary funds, co-investments, secondaries, fund finance, structured vehicles and other general partner (GP) solutions to represent clients in a maturing industry,” he notes.
With the report showing an 8% decrease year over year, Marco notes that GP stakes and secondaries are an increasingly important alternative path to liquidity for both GPs and limited partners (LPs), particularly as a growing divide emerges between managers that continue to attract investor capital and those facing fundraising headwinds.
The Paul, Weiss survey also highlights the growing adoption of artificial intelligence by the private equity industry, with 85% of GP respondents noting that they have appointed an internal AI leader and expect to increase AI spending by 50% compared with the fourth quarter of 2025.
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