Michele Penzer > Latham & Watkins LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins LLP Offices
1271 Avenue of the Americas
NEW YORK
NY 10020
United States
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Michele Penzer
Work Department
Michèle Penzer is the Managing Partner of the New York office of Latham & Watkins and is a member of the firm’s Finance Department and the Banking and Project Finance Practices. She has built a successful finance practice, navigating clients through some of the most volatile market conditions over the past two decades. As Managing Partner of the New York office, Ms. Penzer focuses on strategic planning, client relations, recruitment and integration, and diversity. Ms. Penzer is charged with overseeing the firm’s commitment to the New York legal and business community and the firm's sophisticated client base. Ms. Penzer has held multiple leadership roles, including as a former global Co-chair of the Banking Practice, former member of the firm's Executive Committee and former Chair of the firm's Diversity Committee and Associates Committee.
Position
Finance Partner
Career
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Finance > Commercial lending
(Leading lawyers)With high levels of activity on both sides of the market, Latham & Watkins LLP continues to offer top-tier advice to its clients, representing major banks and private credit lenders on the lender-side as well as upper-market private equity sponsors and large corporations on the borrower-side. The practice is reputed for its wide range of work and its ability to advise on investment-grade work as well as on innovative and complex loans, having recently assisted with high-profile leveraged buyouts and asset-based loans. In particular, the team stands out for its unique experience with unitranche and annual recurring revenue (ARR) loan structures – notable recent work includes advising Blackstone on a major ARR financing in connection with the Zendesk acquisition. Out of New York, the team’s commercial lending work is led by Daniel Seale, who offers experience advising banks and direct lenders on acquisition financings, as well as by Joshua Tinkelman, asset-based lending specialist Michèle Penzer, and leveraged finance expert Alfred Xue. Private equity chair Manu Gayatrinath, who has advised on major acquisition financings in the private equity space, and Jason M. Licht are key contacts in Washington DC, while Greg Robins works out of Los Angeles. The team was also recently strengthened by the arrivals of Corey Wright and Lisa Collier from Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in January 2023.
Lawyer Rankings
- Commercial lending United States > Finance
- Leading lawyers United States > Finance > Commercial lending
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to policyholders
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Fintech
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
Firm Rankings
- International trade > CFIUS
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- International trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Government > Government contracts
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)