Amala Ejikeme

Partner Investment Funds
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

London +44 20 7469 2370

Amala Ejikeme

Overview

A rockstar...” - Chambers and Partners UK

Amala Ejikeme is a partner in the Investment Funds Practice Group at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and focuses on advising European and global sponsors on the establishment of private funds pursuing a wide variety of investment strategies (including buyout, credit, digital assets, growth, impact, infrastructure, real estate and venture).

Amala's clients include Bridgepoint, EQT, Inflexion, JP Morgan, Nextech, Noteus Partners, Permira, Sprints and Vitruvian. He advises on traditional private equity fund structures, as well as structures incorporating long-dated, evergreen, open-ended, multiple currency, and levered arrangements. His practice also includes the formation of separately managed accounts, co-investments, as well as advising on carried interest arrangements, management company issues and extraordinary events (such as investor default and founder separations).

In 2020, Amala was one of seven lawyers globally named in Private Equity International’s “Future Leader” list of 40 professionals working in private equity under the age of 40 and was one of the youngest lawyers ever to be featured on such list. In 2024, he was also recognised by its sister publication, Private Debt Investor, as a “Rising Star”. He has been noted as a “Leading Individual” by The Legal 500 and as a “rising star in the investment funds world” by Chambers and Partners, where clients have described him as “an all-round superstar”, “brilliant technically”, “intellectually superb” and “easy to work with”.

Amala has been quoted in a number of leading private equity and international publications (including Preqin, Private Equity International and The Wall Street Journal) and he has also spoken at industry conferences and other seminars (including at Harvard Law School).

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Thought Leadership

Publications & Seminars

Author, “Maximising Deployable Capital in a Challenging Fundraising Market”, Chapter 18 of Evercore Private Funds Group’s annual “State of the Market” publication, 8 January 2025

Panellist, “Current issues in the investor landscape”, IBA Private Equity Transactions Symposium 2024, 17 October 2024

Author, “Negotiating Fund Terms in a New Macro Environment”, Chapter 15 of Evercore Private Funds Group’s annual “State of the Market” publication, 16 January 2024

Guest Speaker, “Venture Capital and Growth Equity Funds: Market Trends and Terms”, Atomico, 3 October 2023

Panellist, “The Investor Landscape: Current Issues”, IBA Private Equity Transactions Symposium 2023, 28 September 2023

Panellist, “Impact Investor Forum: Defining the Strategy and Intentionality of an Impact Fund”, Private Equity International, Webinar, 26 May 2021

Panellist, “Forming Relationships in the New Normal - Americas”, Preqin, Webinar, 29 September 2020

Guest Speaker, “Private Equity: A ‘101’ on Fund Formation”, Harvard Law School, 13 February 2020

Guest Speaker, “Private Equity Funds: Structuring, Terms and Trends”, Harvard Law School, 25 February 2019

Guest Speaker, Private funds class of the ‘MSc in Finance and Private Equity’ at The London School of Economics, 23 January 2019

Panellist, “Current Trends in Private Equity”, The Alternative Investment Conference of The London School of Economics, 22 January 2019

Panellist, “Alternatives in 2023”, Preqin (The Royal Society, London), 12 September 2018

Panellist, “The State of Buyout Investing”, Institute for Private Capital symposium hosted by Northern Trust (Chicago), 10 May 2018

Guest Speaker, “Private Equity Fund Structuring and Terms: A Transatlantic Perspective”, Harvard Law School, 20 February 2018

Panellist, “Addressing Succession Issues in Middle-Market Partnerships“, Private Equity Research Consortium, 28 September 2017

Guest Lecturer, “Private Equity – Current Trends in Fund Structuring and Fund Terms”, London School of Economics, 3 July 2017

Speaker, “Fund Economics and Key Terms - An Update on Current Trends”, Seminar by Kirkland & Ellis hosted by Ipes (Jersey), 13 June 2017

Moderator, Roundtable hosted by Principles for Responsible Investment on "Incorporating ESG Considerations into Fund Documentation", 11 May 2016

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2010, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales

Education

  • College of Law, LondonLegal Practice Course2008
  • London School of Economics and Political ScienceLL.B.First Class Hons.2007