Cahill Adds Orrick Sponsor Finance Chief for Private Credit Play

Cahill Gordon & Reindel is bringing on Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe partner Dan Amato as it continues to expand its private credit practice.

Amato was the head of Orrick’s sponsor finance practice. He’s joining Cahill in New York as a partner in its private credit group, the firm said Monday.

The firm is best known for its work in leveraged finance, where supply dropped to historic lows over the last two years. Private credit—an alternative to bank financing—surged to take its place, becoming a $1.7 trillion industry. It is also a key target for expansion for Cahill under its new leadership.

Cahill’s commitment to building its private credit capabilities “provides the ideal platform,” Amato said in an interview. “It’s a perfect fit with where my practice has been historically and where I see it going,” he said.

Peter Williams joined the firm as co-head of the private credit practice practice in July. Williams jumped from KKR & Co. Inc., where he was the managing director of its credit strategies team as well as the head of private wealth credit product strategy.

“With the hiring of Peter from KKR just a few weeks ago, and now Dan, I’m eager to see what this remarkable practice will do,” Herb Washer, chair of Cahill’s executive committee, said in a statement. Washer took over as sole leader of Cahill in January.

Amato joined Orrick in 2021 from Kirkland & Ellis.

He has worked with private credit funds and alternative lenders through acquisitions, leveraged financings, and other transactions. Amato has advised BlackRock, HPS Investment Partners, and Nordic Capital, among others for over more than a decade.

Private credit is going to be a permanent part of the capital market structure going forward, Amato said. The funds have shown that they are willing to move up the value chain, in addition to small and mid-market deals.

Having the capacity to do both private credit and syndicated lending work is critical in the market, he said.

“Being at a place like Cahill is really going to fit the moment for where the market is and where it’s going,” he said.