Wes Misson is Head of Fund Finance in the U.S. and co-chair of Cadwalader’s Finance Group. He leads the largest and most experienced team in the U.S. market, which collectively with Cadwalader’s UK Fund Finance practice represents credit providers on Subscription Credit Facilities, NAV-Facilities, Hybrids, Pref Equity Structures, GP Financings, Venture Debt and Capital Relief and Risk Transfer Trades for private equity, real estate and other investment funds of all sizes and vintages sponsored by many of the world’s preeminent fund sponsors. Wes has represented financial institutions as lenders and lead agents in hundreds of Subscription Credit Facilities, Hybrid Facilities, NAV Facilities and other types of fund financings during the course of his career. His experience also encompasses being a market leader on ESG facilities while serving on the firm’s ESG Task Force and being a problem solver for more than a decade-plus working with fund-related borrowers on the negotiation of third-party investor documents with institutional, high net worth and sovereign wealth investors.
Wes was featured in the Financial Times North America Innovative Lawyers 2021 Report in the “Sustainability” category for his representations on nine environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related fund facilities in the U.S., including his work advising Bank of America on a $4.1 billion ESG-linked credit facility tied to Board diversity for funds managed by The Carlyle Group.
Wes has served as lead counsel on many of the largest and most sophisticated fund financings ever consummated. Over the past two years alone, he has advised more than 35 banks as lead or syndicate lender in transactions valued in excess of $75 billion in terms of lender commitments.
Beyond his client work, Wes is very active in broader industry initiatives, as a prolific author and educator on fund finance, including as a regular contributor to the firm’s weekly newsletter, Fund Finance Friday, and as a year-round speaker at and participant in related events, including as part of the Fund Finance Association (FFA), the industry’s main networking association. He is also deeply involved in charitable work as chairman of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, and enjoys spending time with his family.
Wes has a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
