Richard speaks with Sophie Smith and Mike James, who co-head the private funds practice at the London office of Cleary Gottlieb. Sophie joined the team in 2022, and in October was named among Europe’s 25 best up-and-coming private equity lawyers by Law.com International in its Rising Stars 2022 list. In the conversation, Sophie covers the firm’s plans to grow the practice out of London, as well as her thoughts on the London funds market more generally. Sophie and Mike also address the latest trends in the private funds market, including secondaries transactions, and longer-dated and 'evergreen' funds. They also take a look to the future including discussing 'Cleary X', the firm's legal technologies and services platform.