King & Spalding added fund finance lawyer Ron Franklin as a partner in its finance and restructuring practice group in New York to be a leader of its global fund finance practice. Franklin arrives at the firm soon after partners Andy Bettwy and Jin Joo, who joined the firm earlier this month and previously practiced with Franklin.
Franklin joins from Proskauer Rose, where he served as co-head of the corporate and fund finance group alongside Bettwy and led the global fund finance practice. He brings more than three decades of experience advising financial institutions, private equity sponsors, private credit funds and corporations across a wide range of financing transactions. His extensive fund finance experience includes NAV facilities, asset-based lending, GP financings and other complex financing solutions.
With Franklin’s arrival, King & Spalding’s team now includes a Chambers Band-1 ranked fund finance practice in London, led by partner Sam Hutchinson and her team, who joined the firm in 2024, alongside a top-tier fund finance team in the U.S., which Franklin will lead.
“Adding a partner of Ron’s caliber along with his talented partners Andy and Jin is a transformational group addition for our fund finance platform and the linchpin in what has been a multi-year strategy to build a world-class global fund finance practice,” Robert Hays, chairman of King & Spalding, said.
“I have spent my career building and leading finance practices, and King & Spalding offers an incredibly strong platform for taking this practice to the next level,” Franklin said. “The firm’s deep relationships across private credit, private equity and structured finance, combined with its premier fund finance team in London that I have known and respected for years, create the perfect foundation for serving clients globally. We are assembling something special here, and I am excited about what comes next.”
Franklin has been recognized by multiple guides to the legal profession as a leading lawyer across several finance categories. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, his M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and his A.B., cum laude, from Occidental College.
“We strongly believe that what we have built here in less than two years is unprecedented: a truly integrated, transatlantic fund finance practice with market-leading talent at every level,” Carolyn Alford, co-leader of the firm’s finance and restructuring practice group, said. “Ron’s leadership, combined with Andy and Jin’s capabilities and our outstanding London team, gives our clients a single destination for the most complex fund finance work in the market across every product type. And we are continuing to invest; this practice will only grow from here. This is a statement about where we see the credit markets heading and where we intend to lead.”
