Rod Palmer and Paul Farrell of Walkers evaluate recent developments in the offshore funds markets.

Thomas H Bell and Jason Glover of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP assess the current fundraising climate.

Two of the most highly regarded private funds practitioners worldwide give thier view of the recent changes in regulation and the fundraising environment and how these will affect the daily reality of professionals active in this area.

Who's Who Legal brings together five of the world's leading private funds lawyers to discuss recent developments from the perspectives of Germany, Ireland, Hong Kong, the USA and Guernsey.

The unprecedented turbulence of the past two years placed fund managers under significant pressure from investors: greater scrutiny of the risks inherent in the investment strategies employed, demands for liquidity at a time when many of the underlying securities were frozen or deeply discounted in value and persistent requests for reassurance about the future of the industry.

With the benefit of over 14 years of research and tens of thousands of votes from clients and private practitioners, Who’s Who Legal takes a closer look at developing trends in the private funds legal marketplace worldwide.

In this section we analyse the findings of our research in greater depth to identify the firms and practitioners who stand out worldwide.

Who’s Who Legal interviewed hundreds of lawyers active in this practice area during the research for this publication and the vast majority were in agreement over the continuing harsh climate for the funds industry.

Over the course of our independent research, we have identified 328 leading private funds lawyers in 38 countries. The most highly regarded individuals and firms are outlined here and recent high-profile moves within the community are also shown.

We identify 57 of the leading banking and finance lawyers in nine jurisdictions in the following chapter, with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine the best-represented nations.

We identify the leading firms and individuals in the field of private funds law.

The market has been behaving atypically recently and many of the lawyers we have interviewed are relishing the challenging and interesting workload as the focus of private funds practices shifts to accomodate new trends.

California supports a diverse commercial ecosystem from technology start-ups in Silicon Valley to multinational corporations and within this diverse climate thrives the largest number of hedge funds outside New York, Connecticut and Dallas, according to the journal InvestmentNews.

Private fund formation in the UAE is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it is starting to catch the rest of the world's attention. Abu Dhabi is home to the world's largest sovereign wealth fund: the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which is starting to invest heavily in Western companies. Liquidity is strong, despite financial problems elsewhere in the globe, and the UAE is attracting a large number of investors.

Fourteen lawyers represent eight firms in this year's private funds chapter, where their expertise in advising the state's sophisticated funds industry ranges from M&A to real estate. The lawyers that this chapter focuses on are experts in fund formation.