Allen & Overy announced that Ilona Potiha has joined the firm as a partner in its U.S. Leveraged Finance practice, based in New York.

Ilona joins from Davis Polk & Wardwell where she was most recently counsel, helping to develop the firm’s leveraged finance designation platform. Ilona brings almost a decade of experience representing lenders, financial institutions, and borrowers on a wide range of financing transactions, having begun her career advising on leveraged finance and private equity transactions at Ropes & Gray.

Jake Mincemoyer, Head of A&O’s U.S. Leveraged Finance practice said, “Ilona’s appointment comes at a unique time in the private debt markets, where deal volume and size continue to grow significantly year over year, and we are so grateful to have her capable hands on board. We’re confident Ilona’s deep relationships and expertise in the leveraged finance market across both the syndicated and direct lending sectors will complement our growing U.S. offering, which is now comprised of 10 US leveraged finance partners.”

Ilona added, “Allen & Overy is a global leader in leveraged finance and the firm offers a unique cross-border financing platform with integration across practices. I’m excited to join the fast-growing group of talented lawyers in the U.S. and capitalize on the immense opportunity in the leveraged lending markets.”

Ilona is the fourth lateral hire this year to join as a partner in Allen & Overy’s U.S. Leveraged Finance practice, with Mincemoyer, Gordon Mak and Stan Kostov joining from White & Case in February and June, respectively. Across practice groups, the firm has made over 20 prominent lateral hires in the U.S. in 2021, including the acquisition of an eight-partner tech-focused practice group from White & Case.

Ilona earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School and her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Columbia University.