Asset Management

Goodwin’s John LeClaire: ‘Private equity people are the masters of the universe now’

The veteran deals lawyer, who co-founded Goodwin’s private equity practice, says buyout executives are the new bond traders

John LeClaire joined law firm Goodwin in the early 1980s, where he became an M&A lawyer
John LeClaire joined law firm Goodwin in the early 1980s, where he became an M&A lawyer Illustration: Danilo Agutoli for FN

When Bonfire of the Vanities was published in 1987, Tom Wolfe’s zeitgeist-skewering novel picked a bond trader as its so-called master of the universe protagonist.  

Nearly 40 years on, would Wolfe have chosen instead a top private equity executive as an exemplar of finance success?

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110-Hour Workweeks Drove Young Bankers at a Boutique Firm to the BrinkExternal link

110-Hour Workweeks Drove Young Bankers at a Boutique Firm to the Brink