Cahill Brings on KKR Director to Co-Lead Private Credit Team

Cahill Gordon & Reindel is building out its private credit practice with the addition of KKR managing director Peter Williams.

Williams, the former US head of structuring at the global investment firm, will join Cahill as a partner starting July 15, the firm announced on Monday. He will co-lead Cahill’s private credit practice, which he joins as the fifth partner in the group.

Williams said in an interview that he’ll will work with co-head John Papachristos to build the business. “I can really put my fingerprints on it,” he said, adding that he’ll “work with John in the existing team to really grow it into something special.”

Private credit, an alternative to bank financing, has become one of the busiest markets on Wall Street, surging over the last two years to become a $1.7 trillion industry. Law firms have been busy picking up top talent to try to capture the work.

Williams, a former Squire Patton Boggs and King & Spalding lawyer, joined KKR in 2019 as director, eventually becoming the US head of structuring and credit solutions group in 2021.

He became managing director on KKR’s credit strategies team in 2023 as well as the head of private wealth credit product strategy. “For years, Peter has had a front row seat at one of the world’s largest private credit institutions,” Papachristos said in a statement.

Cahill, known for its work in capital markets and banking, has long been in the leveraged loan market. Private credit relies on many of the same deal structures, covenants and terms, Herb Washer, chair of Cahill’s executive committee, said in a statement.

Williams’ addition “will immediately add to our ability to address our clients’ needs no matter their transaction,” Washer said.

Williams said the firm is looking to build out its private credit capabilities both through internal and lateral hiring.

“They know that private credit is here to stay and it’s not just going to be solved by adding me,” Williams said.

Cahill in May opened a new office in Wilmington, Delaware with three cryptocurrency partners. It also picked up Amit Trehan, the lead restructuring lawyer for Barclays in the US.

The firm has also seen some departures. Capital markets partner Jake Keaveny and leveraged finance partner Warren Newton are poised to join Proskauer Rose in London.