Reed Smith names Chris Sheaffer global chair of Private Equity Group

Sheaffer, a partner in New York who previously served as global vice chair of the Private Equity Group, succeeds Mark Pedretti and Brad Schmarak. Pedretti and Schmarak will continue their transactional practices, with Schmarak also continuing as the group’s global vice chair.

The appointment comes amid significant growth in Reed Smith’s private capital practice. The firm has added 14 private capital partners in recent months, expanding its capabilities across private equity transactions, private funds and other areas important to private capital clients.

“Private capital has become one of the cornerstones of our global transactional business, and we have made significant investments in the depth and breadth of our capabilities,” said James Tandler, chair of Reed Smith’s Business & Finance Department. “Chris has been instrumental in that growth. His focus will be on bringing together our transactional, finance, funds, regulatory and sector capabilities to deliver an increasingly integrated offering for our clients and identify our next opportunities for growth.”

“Our private capital practice has grown significantly, and we see tremendous opportunity ahead,” Sheaffer said. “We have outstanding talent, genuinely global capabilities and strong relationships across the private capital market. Our focus now is on building on that momentum, continuing to invest in the areas that matter most to our clients, bringing the full strength of the firm to their most important matters and accelerating our growth across the private capital market.”

Alongside its investment in talent and capabilities, Reed Smith has expanded its efforts to connect private capital market participants and create opportunities for clients. Over the past three years, the firm has developed a growing series of Private Equity Deal Forums across major U.S. and European markets, bringing together investors, investment bankers, executives and other dealmakers to discuss deal flow, investment opportunities and emerging trends.

As a continuation of these efforts, Reed Smith recently hired Rob Fox as senior managing director of private equity, who will focus on helping private equity sponsors with their capital raising initiatives in both the U.S. and Europe.

Reed Smith advises private equity sponsors, institutional investors, family offices, portfolio companies and other market participants across the private capital ecosystem. The breadth of the firm’s global platform enables clients to draw on integrated transactional, financing, funds, regulatory and sector capabilities as they raise and deploy capital, execute transactions and manage investments across markets. The strength of the practice is reflected in significant rankings in PitchBook’s Global League Tables across private equity, venture capital and M&A, as well as recognition from Chambers USA 2026 and Thomson Reuters’ Private Equity 2025 Analysis.